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

Written by Ken Alder

Narrated by Brian Jennings

In June 1792, amidst the chaos of the French Revolution, two intrepid astronomers set out in opposite directions on an extraordinary journey. Starting in Paris, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre would make his way north to Dunkirk, while Pierre-François-André Méchain voyaged south to Barcelona. Their mission was to measure the world, and their findings would help define the meter as one ten-millionth of the distance between the pole and the equator—a standard that would be used “for all people, for all time.”

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Oct 1, 2002
• ISBN: 9780743562140

Ken Alder

Ken Alder is a professor of history and Milton H. Wilson Professor of the Humanities at Northwestern University. He is the author of The Measure of All Things, published to worldwide acclaim in fourteen languages. He lives in Evanston, Illinois.

Reviews for The Measure of All Things

[schmerguls · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book examines in great detail the genesis of the meteric system in France in the 1790's. I thought the explanation of the tools and methods used by the French savants who generated the data used to create the meter could have been explained better, and also thought the importance ot the error could have been better explained. But I presume a scientist would find the account fully adequate. I did not find the book of great interest till it reached the history of the metric system and its adoption--eventually by all the countries of the world excep Yemen, Liberia, and the United States. Maybe the Tea Party will lead this country to get in sync with reat of the world?

[boundtogetherforgood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The subject is a heavy one but I still plugged away and found it pretty interesting.

[hcubic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In 1792, the French Academy of Sciences appointed two respected scientists to survey a north-south meridian from Dunkirk to Barcelona, for the purpose of determining the size (and shape) of the earth. Why is this important? Because it would establish an international basis for the meter, foundation of the metric system. It was expected that the work would be finished in about a year, but the expeditions, led by Pierre Francois Andre M?chain and Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, which were carried out amidst the chaos of the French Revolution, outlasted both the Academy and the monarchy. Ken Alder has located the lost correspondence between these two, and has discovered the surprising fact that M?chain?s guilt over the possibility of a critical error in a measurement near the southern end of the meridian led him to agonizing self-doubt that brought him close to what we would call a nervous breakdown and almost prevented his completion of the project (about seven years later than first expected).

[kr2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have always believed in the paradox of formal systems. The accuracy of any measurement can only go so far no matter how perfect we think the system is. With the latest news of the deteriorating condition of the "official' kilogram which rots away in some shed in France, this book seems all the more timely. The metric system is flawed, but not by paradox; it is due to human error. Alder writes an excellent account of how this mistake happened and what its ramifications were and are.

[jaygheiser · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

mildly interesting, but too long

[cmc_22 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As the Revolution raged, two astronomers were sent to determine the length of the meridian passing through Paris, from Dunkerque in the north to Barcelona, Spain, in the south. That figure, in turn, would be used to determine the length of the meter, a new measure of length that would, in turn, be used to establish an entire system of weights and measures?the metric system.Both expeditions ran into problems from their onset?the weather, ignorant peasants, angry revolutionaries, approaching armies, disease, and the land itself. But Mechain?s measurements were undermined further by his own personality, his insistence on precision leading him into a significant error and an attempt to cover up that error.Alder not only covers the details of expeditions, but also the politics surrounding the quest to establish a new measurement standard and the efforts required to get them adopted by France and other nations. The book is well written and a great read. If you ever wondered about the origins of the metric system, Alder?s book is a great place to start.

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While the French Revolution raged around them, the Royal Academy of Sciences had a plan - to measure the circumference of the world and they knew just the two scientists (astronomers also known as savants) to do it. Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre was to head north from Paris while his partner, Pierre-Francois-Andre Mechain headed south. What was supposed to be a year-long adventure turned into seven but the end result was the definition of the meter and the birth of the metric system. Part biographical, part scientific, part historical and part adventure Alder adds intrigue when he delves into a secret error that only Delambre and Mechain knew about. He goes on to question exactly what is an error and he speculates on the lives of the men who changed the course of weights and measures.

[quantum_flapdoodle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When is an error not an error? Read this book, and find out. Half history, half adventure, the tale of two men who brave weather, disease, and the French Revolution in an attempt to determine the correct size of the Earth. Great reading.

[doingdewey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In The Measure of All Things, Ken Alder describes the surprisingly difficult and adventurous process by which the length of the meter was determined. Savants or learned men of France decided that the best way to develop a universal standard of measurement was to base that measurement on the natural world. They selected one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the north pole and tasked two savants with leading expeditions to measure part of that distance using triangulation (the rest of the distance would then be estimated based on their results). Their journey started while the French revolution was taking place and over the seven years of their travels they faced challenges including civil war, wars with other countries, mountainous terrain, and malaria.The author did a great job setting up an exciting story. The selection of a basic unit of length sounds trivial but as the author points out the idea of a universal standard of measurement was connected to the ideas of justice, equality, free trade, and the free exchange of ideas. For savants, the French Revolution with its’ public support for individual rights was the perfect time to pursue this goal.With many individuals and events connected to the derivation of the meter, this book was a nice balanced mix of all aspects of the story. There were little bits on historical customs, personal stories, details of the wars in which France was involved, and highlights of the scientific advancements being made. In fact, at the beginning of the book, I was all ready to give it 4 stars, because it just started out so well. Unfortunately, like the expedition, the story began to drag on.A lot of the end of the book was tangential information and not much about the expedition. And when the expedition ended, the book still didn’t. Most disappointingly, the error mentioned in the title came down to worn out equipment and insufficient statistical knowledge and it didn’t really change the world – it just made the meter a little shorter than it should have been. Despite the ending, the story of the meter was a very interesting and surprisingly adventurous story and the author did a great job connecting it to major world events of the time period.

[devil_llama · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When is an error not an error? Read this book, and find out. Half history, half adventure, the tale of two men who brave weather, disease, and the French Revolution in an attempt to determine the correct size of the Earth. Great reading.

[lorin_40 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the original definition of the meter, the distance from the north pole to the equator equaled exactly ten million meters. Shortly before the French Revolution, two French astronomers set out to estimate this distance more accurately than ever before, in order to create the meter stick that would serve as the reference meter. Alder tells the story of the journeys of these astronomers, as they surveyed regions of France and Spain in order to calculate the true length of the meter. It's a fascinating story, including the reasons why they slightly underestimated this distance.