The Measure of Reality: Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600 [Paperback]

Alfred W. Crosby (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521639905 | ISBN-13: 978-0521639903 | Publication Date: December 13, 1997

Western Europeans were among the first, if not the first, to invent mechanical clocks, geometrically precise maps, double-entry bookkeeping, precise algebraic and musical notations, and perspective painting. More people in Western Europe thought quantitatively in the sixteenth century than in any other part of the world, enabling them to become the world's leaders. With amusing detail and historical anecdote, Alfred Crosby discusses the shift from qualitative to quantitative perception that occurred during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Alfred W. Crosby is the author of five books, including the award-winning Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 (Cambridge, 1986)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Measure of Reality is the third book in a series in which Alfred Crosby, a noted historian, asks how it is that Western European societies could have conquered so much of the world in the space of a few generations. The answer, he finds, is in certain agricultural and technological techniques. In this volume he turns to one set of techniques in particular: the precise measurement of time, number, and distance. That precise measurement enabled European armies to march in step, enabled navigators to find faraway ports, and enabled gunsmiths and chemists to formulate the weapons of conquest. These inventions were refined over centuries, but most came heavily into play in the years between 1250 and 1300, the period Crosby examines in closest detail. The Measure of Reality offers a fascinating, big-picture view of the artifacts that changed history. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Having written such books as Ecological Imperialism, Crosby, a professor of American studies, history and geography at the University of Texas, Austin, wondered what it was that made Europeans such successful colonists and empire builders. In this engrossing study, he posits that it was Europeans' ability to divide the world, whether experiential or abstract, into quanta which they could then manipulate and exploit. Crosby begins by reminding readers how different the Western worldview was a millennium ago. For example, Europeans, Crosby notes, "had a system of unequal accordian-pleated hours that puffed up and deflated so as to ensure a dozen hours each for daytime and nighttime, winter and summer." This more fluid conception of reality did not change over night. Crosby first looks at the "Necessary but Insufficient Causes" like the codification of time and calendar, new strides in cartography and astronomy and the introduction of Arabic numerals, before looking at the match that set fire to the rage to quantify. This was, he says, the shift to visualization. With the printing press, large numbers of people moved from oral to literate culture; with increasingly complicated polyphony, composers found need for musical notation; painters, in an effort to bring depth to their work, applied geometry to make the third dimension visual on a flat plane; and merchants eschewed memory for the more reliable double-entry bookkeeping. Crosby's argument is, of course, much subtler (not to mention more entertaining) than this grossly simplified outline. It is a joy for anyone interested in why we think the way we think.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (December 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521639905
• ISBN-13: 978-0521639903
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars clearly and well written, fascinating story, November 25, 1998

By 

Willem Noe "scorpio-1" (Berlin) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Measure of Reality: Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600 (Paperback)

After reading a positive recommendation in The Economist, I read this book twice and greatly enjoyed the rich tapestry of strands that Crosby weaves. With discerning eye and picking essential tendencies he explains how& why Europe surged ahead from the 11/12th century onward (with a nightmare pause in the 14th century) in economic and technological development, to dominate the world for an unprecedented period. He bases his story on many different elements that came to the fore in an increasingly complex and dynamic European society of the 12/13th century. I found his thesis of the increasing European mindset toward quantification altogether very convincing. I also liked how he points out the traces of these developments on our society today. Highly recommendend.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Part 3 of a Trilogy, March 29, 2007

By 

John Cox (Charlotte, NC, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Measure of Reality: Quantification and Western Society, 1250-1600 (Paperback)

An important consideration when reading this book is to remember that it is the third part of a trilogy, with the first two parts being (1) "The Columbian Exchange" and (2) "Ecological Imperialism." Crosby's case studies in this book on the development of quantitative thinking in Europe are fascinating in and of themselves. But the overall impact of the shift from quanlitative to quantitative thinking in the emergence of Europe as a world power is absolutely critical to the understanding of the world today. I find this concept to be both more compelling and more predictive than the arguments put forth in G. Diamond's "Guns Germs and Steel." By way of example, look at what India, China and other East Asian countries have done with the adoption of quantitative thinking.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars highly recommended, December 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600 (Hardcover)

The author does a spectacular job of building a bridge from Medieval thought to a nascent scientific era using the theme of quantification. He uses an entertaining and readable style to document the emergence of measurement schemes in disciplines and activities as diverse as bookkeeping and music. I found the book both enjoyable and enlightening, and plan to cite it frequently in my teaching.