Standards

Measure everything that is measurable—and make measurable what is not yet measurable. 

- Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) 

No two things can be found that are so similar that their similarity could not be increased to infinity. Therefore, despite all attempts at standardization, the standard and what is measured will always remain different. 

- Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) 

Measurement—comparison with a given standard—is one of humanity’s oldest cultural techniques. On maps and in models, for example, scales form the basis for all further interpretation. With the advent of modern natural science, however, measurement has become the predominant means of gaining knowledge. Quantitative methods are used first and foremost in the natural sciences, but increasingly also in the social sciences and humanities; moreover, scientific quality itself is even intended to be made measurable through a wide variety of “rankings.” On the other hand, in the context of quantum physics, for example, it becomes clear that a measurement is a highly non-trivial process, and the question arises as to which properties are even amenable to quantification. The 2009 Rome Seminar will explore these and similar topics.