Some people hate the very name of statistics, but I find them full of beauty and interest

Some people hate the very name of statistics, but I find them full of beauty and interest. Whenever they are not brutalised, but delicately handled by the higher methods, and are warily interpreted, their power to deal with complicated phenomena is extraordinary.

Francis Galton, cited in J. Vincent, Beyond measure (2022), 253

Measurement, like speech and play, is the cornerstone of cognition

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

Codification and other efforts at standardization proceeded quite slowly

Codification and other efforts at standardization proceeded quite slowly. It took 52 years to dismantle the tariff barriers between Austrian provinces after 1775, while even after the impact of Napoleon, Baden still used 112 different measurements of length, 92 measurements for square measures, 65 for dry goods, 163 for fruit, 123 for liquids, 65 for alcohol, and 80 separate definitions of a pound weight.

P.H. Wilson, The Holy Roman Empire (2016), 540

Our measuring jugs are inadequate, too small and too vague.

Our measuring jugs are inadequate, too small and too vague. A half pint seems useless to me, and measures marked on the outside, like the popular and cheap Pyrex glass jugs, don't give accurate reading for small quantities, Enamel jugs get chipped. Plastic jugs are hideous, they don't last, and they are not accurate. That leaved stainless steel. These are expensive, they are reasonably well marked, and they are durable. The only commonly available one in this country is also ungainly, the handle uncomfortable to hold.

E. David, English bread and yeast cookery (1977), 242