A History of Measures

Abstract

Dr. Stecchini, who related the original alphabet to a prior numerical divining system in the February issue of ABS, here summarizes the results of research on the origins of measures. The world's measuring systems probably have a common root in ancient Mesopotamia. In some cultures they were endowed with a religious aura; in Greece they gave rise to the dispute between Protagoras, that “Man is the measure of all things,” and Plato, that “God is the measure of all things.” In the modern world, a number of theoretical misconceptions arise because scientists and humanists have forgotten the true nature of measure.