The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World

The Measure of All Things is the astonishing tale of one of history's greatest scientific adventures. Yet behind the public triumph of the metric system lies a secret error, one that is perpetuated in every subsequent definition of the meter. As acclaimed historian and novelist Ken Alder discovered through his research, there were only two people on the planet who knew the full extent of this error: Delambre and Méchain themselves.

By turns a science history, detective tale, and human drama, The Measure of All Things describes a quest that succeeded as it failed -- and continues to enlighten and inspire to this day.

---

All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

The Measure of All Things, 2007-04-01
"The historian owes the dead nothing but the truth." Quoting Delambre in this instance, Ken Alder makes it known that he is conscious of the ethical responsibility that historians are required to uphold. As a historian himself, I have little doubt that he has intentionally wavered from this oath, nor do I believe that he ever attempted to suppress information. He is bound by his profession to seek and give truth. However, anyone who as gifted as he is, is certainly capable of persuading his audience, especially an audience who has no intent to seek out inconsistencies. In this book, I believe that Alder may be over-dramatizing the importance of some of the information presented. I also think that the context, organization and generalization that Alder expresses can also mislead the common day reader or the critical reader for that matter. In this historical account I find myself confused by many of the messages that he is sending forth. Here I feel it is necessary to quote the following paragraph, taken from the prologue, to express several of my viewpoints:

"Together, these documents reveal a remarkable story. They reveal that Mechain-despite his extreme caution and exactitude-committed an error in the early years of the expedition, and worse, upon discovering his mistake, covered it up. Mechain was so tormented by the secret knowledge of his error that he was driven to the brink of madness. In the end, he died in an attempt to correct himself. The meter, it turns out, is in error, an error which has been perpetuated in every subsequent redefinition of its length, including our current definition of the meter in terms of the distance traveled by light in a fraction of a second."

Starting from the beginning, we first see Alder use his words to imply that his error was a mistake and by covering it up was something even worse. I would argue that Mechain did not commit an error at all. In fact, it was his keen attention to detail that produced observational inconsistencies. If he had subscribed to Delambre's methodology, he would have checked his measurements according to two stars, which would have agreed, and he would have been on his way. In fact, the first three stars were in agreement, it was a fourth star, Mizar, an obscure star located on the horizon, that put him in disagreement. If simple statistical theory existed during this time, it would deduce Mizar's observation as an outlier. Covering up this so-called error is another shadow that Alder casts at this early juncture at Mechain's expense. We know from Delambre and Mechain's dialog that Mechain consistently told his colleague of this error. We are also made aware that Delambre said the following in regards to Mechain, "if he dissimulated a few anomalous results which he feared would be blamed on his lack of care or skill, if he succumbed to the temptation to alter several series of observations...., at least he did so in such a way that the altered data never entered into the calculation of the meridian." Finally, Alder chooses to lead into a statement explicitly stating that the meter, as we know it today, is in error. If this were true and Mechain did botch the survey, how would this error get translated or `perpetuate' to the distance traveled by light in a fraction of a second?

The next paragraph continues to make shocking revelations. When Alder stated, "the meter calculated by Delambre and Mechain falls roughly .2 millimeters short", I passed over it with some caution. However, by the time I finished the book I was thoroughly perplexed by this conclusive statement. Is Alder suggesting that Delambre and Mechain are the ones who calculated the meter? As I recall in Alder's own words, "the single factor that made the greatest difference to the final determination of the meter was based on the very data they had been sent to supercede." Moreover, what is Alder implying by falling short? Do we now know the correct distance from the equator to the pole and it is an unchanging fixed measure? What is Alder's source or foundation in making a statement like this or any of these haphazard remarks?

My reaction to the prologue, as I am sure most readers might be, is that the meter being in error is a very significant discovery, and without equivocation - Mechain is to blame for this discrepancy. I can only hope that it is not written by Alder himself. Even if it is not, he is responsible for the fabric of this ballyhoo. If I had not read this portion of the book, I may have not had anything critical to say about it. I think it is an accurate historical account of what took place and I enjoyed seeing some of the incipient stages of globalization come into view. I was also intrigued by the world's perception in this time period and how the revolution marked the demise of some predominant theocentric misconceptions, which, in my mind, precipitated the end of the `savant' and gave rise to the scientist.

All things considered, I was disappointed that the book did not fulfill its promise. I think it is degrading to promote a book about science in such a way as to trick readers into thinking it's something that it's not. Some who read this book may gather that it is about a "hidden error that transformed the world", for me it was a book that did not live up to its billing, and kept me second guessing myself and the author's intent throughout.



0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

It helps if you're a surveyor or geodesist, but good for everyone, 2005-12-29
I greatly enjoyed this book. While there have been complaints about a lack of example calculations and discussion of details of how it was done, there is enough in here for someone familiar with this type of work to figure it out. And if you don't know this material, you may not want to be faced with the math (believe me)!

The discussion on the repeating 'theodolite' was great, as were the trials and tribulations of triangulation. If you've ever measured angles on a mountain top, you'll know just what the author is getting at. A great achievement for an historian, who, we presume, may not have done this kind of work.

There are two other really good parts of this book. The first is the discussion on the search for a 'universal' system of measurement. It places the metric system in a context, not as the be-all and end-all, but as a serious effort to solve a serious set of problems. The discussion of the 'error' is fascinating. This part hasn't changed in nature, just the current details.

The second is the analysis of the personalities of the two central characters. Alder does bring them to life. Having worked in Antarctica for a year and seen people dealing with the stress of isolation, the story was very real to me: I almost knew those guys, albeit in different times and guises. And the stress was real: these guys ran the risks of close encounters with Madame Guillotine, wars, disease, politics, the works. This was quite apart from the normal risks of the job, such as falling off cliffs and towers, exposure, unhappy locals, etc. Thank heavens for GPS, a technology that is possible only because of the foundation work of geodesists like Mechain and Delambre.

Enjoy this book, as a history of measurement and geodesy, a history of a major surveying achievement, and a vivid study of personalities under real stress.


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Measure, but no details, 2005-10-22
I have no hesitation in recommending this book to just about any interest or level of scientific knowledge or background. There is a wealth of information that is generally little known. How many of us knew that metrication was a unifying factor beyond simply the impaired meter measurement? How many of us knew that the most advanced nation in the world, the USA, is one of few hold-outs in the world (along with N. Korea, for instance) that have not accepted metrication -- and screwed up a very expensive Mars landing expedition as a consequence?

Why only three stars? I'm sorry Mr. Alder, but I bought your book primarily because I wanted to know how the two guys did it -- but you didn't tell me in any detail! OK, so this was not intended as a text book and if it had been packed with all the geometry it would not have sold as well. But even so, surely we should have been provided with some access. An appendix with some example calculations would have been welcome. How about a web site reference to the detailed mathematics? It is a great wonder to me how these guys managed to do all these detailed calculations when all they had was stylus and paper. And the precision to which they worked was very great, requiring either reams of trigonometric tables or very tedious calculations for every trig function they used.

It took me a long time to read this book, because I spent a lot of time on the Internet trying to find references to how they performed their calculations. Surprisingly I found nothing significant. So Mr. Alder, having researched all the original papers, missed an oportunity to enlighten us. I think how they did the calculations to the precision they were able would have been at least as interesting a story.

Perhaps you can add this as a sequel, Mr. Alder...


8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

A story about science and scientists, 2005-02-21
This book follows a recent trend, which has produced some very good books, to take a relevant but poorly known scientific development and telling its story and the story of its main protagonists. Alder has chosen the story of how, in the late XVIII Century, the Royal Academy of Sciences in France was trying hard to reach the definitive measurement of the meter, and hence of all the metric system, the one which today dominates weights and measures around the world. The meter was supposed to be a ten millionth of the distance from one of the poles to the equator. The French proposed taking a sample of one meridian, the segment running from Dunkirk down to Barcelona, measuring it to perfection and then inferring the rest of the distance of the meridian. One ten millionth of that would be the meter. Two outstanding astronomers are chosen for the job, which was supposed to last no more than a year. But alas, the French Revolution comes to full gear at the beginning of the labors, and our scientists suffer all kinds of setbacks, prolonging the task for seven long and hard years.

Who were these gentlemen? Well, here is where the story gets all its fascinating features, illuminating the reader about how much the personalities involved in research can affect the scientific outcome of it. The first man is Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre. He is a man of humble origins, a Classicist who has become tutor to a noble and rich family. A late bloomer, Delambre has become a remarkable astronomer almost all by himself, as a disciple of renowned (a magnificent and eccentric character) Jerome Lalande. The other man is a professional astronomer, also a disicple of Lalande's. His name is Pierre Francois Andre Mechain, who lives in the Royal Observatory in Paris.

Delambre goes north of Paris to Dunkirk while Mechain goes south to Barcelona. In the early days of their quest, political events (the execution of King Louis XVI and the instauration of the Terror) impose severe setbacks to both scientists. So severe, that the original year of labor will stretch to seven years. This is where the book reaches high altitudes, when it describes the differences in personalities between Delambre and Mechain. Granted, Mechain suffers much more, including a terrible accident and exile in Italy. But while Delambre is patient, practical and business-going, Mechain starts developing a severe anguish, emotional imbalance and paranoia. All this is aggravated by a mysterious situation, which really becomes the axis of the story: while measuring up the latitude at Montjuich, south of Barcelona, Mechain seems to make a mistake which will torment him for the rest of his life. One of the meditions (each one related to a different star) simply doesn't fit with the rest. Delambre or any other practical astronomer would simply have dismissed the incongrous data as a mysterious distortion, but Mechain, a man obsessed with an accuracy impossible for his age, decides not to disclose the mistake, fearing it might destroy his reputation. And so, year after year, he carries along his guilt and his paranoia.

Somehow, the book has a happy ending I will not spoil here. Suffice it to say this a very interesting and well written story about a true and relevant scientific quest. Don't get bogged down in scientific detail if you don't get everyting right. The adventure and the human story are more than satisfactory enough.


2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

The search for precision, 2005-01-26
Since the book 'Longitude', by D. Sobel, was published and became a best seller, there have been a number of books that have tried to follow the same lines. Some of these efforts have been successful. Unfortunately, I didn't feel that this book lived up to the task.

This story involves the quest for an accurate all encompassing unit of measure that can be agreed upon. During this period of time, the world does not have a standard unit of measure. Each town of province would have it's own standard for a unit of length, weight, and volume. Trade in that area would be based on this standard. This concept worked well until you left the area and tried to trade goods with a aneighboring town.

The neighboring town would have a different set of standards, which caused problems with setting unitary costs for goods. What a trader would pay per bushel of goods wouldn't mean very much when the size of the bushel changed from town to town.

The book goes into detail of the events regarding the determination of the standard meter. I enjoyed the race between the differnet countries, including the French trying to get the United States involved. Another interesting point was how the French Revolution played into the process. It was such a turbulent time and anyone hwo was part of the 'official' King's business were the enemy to the citizens.

The book gets a little long and drawn out regarding the measurements taken. It gets a little dry and, at times, difficult to keep ones interest. Not a bad book, but when compared to some of the better books, this one falls a little short.

Price is accurate as of the date/time indicated. Prices and product availability are subject to change. Any price displayed on the Amazon website at the time of purchase will govern the sale of this product.