Measurement, like speech and play, is the cornerstone of cognition. It encourages us to pay attention to the boundaries of the world, to notice where the line ends up and the scales tip. It requires that we compare one portion of reality to another and describe the differences, creating a scaffolding of knowledge. … If we could not measure, then we could not observe the world around us; could not experiment and learn. Measurement allows us to record the past and by doing so uncover patterns that help predict the future
J. Vincent, Beyond measure (2022), 1