Measurement in Mathematics

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 The History of Measurement in Mathematics



Britannica defines measurement as “the process of associating numbers with physical quantities and phenomena. Measurement is fundamental to almost all everyday activities” (Augustyn, 2020).  

 

Like all mathematics, the concept of measurement evolved through human curiosity. One of the earliest units of mathematical measurement was ‘time’ by tracking the movements of the sun. Depending on the ‘time’ or placement of the sun, determined when people would eat, sleep, or hunt. Two early inventions to measure time were the sundial and the water clock. The sundial would track the time by measuring a shadow cast by a vertical stick (Vitrek, 2022). There is evidence of early sundials being used in Ancient Egypt in 1700 BC (Bryner, 2013).

 

It is believed water clocks were invented to record time during periods of no sunlight for sundials. The oldest known example of the water clock is also from Ancient Egypt and is dated to 1500 BC (Mingren, 2014). In 325 BC, the Greeks used water clocks to time speeches in courts from well-known Greeks, including Aristotle, Aristophanes, and Demosthenes (Mingren, 2014).

 

A more common thought when discussing measurement is length, weight, or volume. Many wonders of the world were built in ancient times, and length, weight, and volume were all important factors in the construction. However, as these structures were built all over the world from Brazil, Peru, Europe, Egypt, etc, they all created their own form of measurement for construction. One of the most common units of measurement from the ancient world is the cubit (Young, 2016). The cubit was the measurement from the elbow to the fingertips and was used in the construction of marvels such as the pyramids.

 


Although the earliest association with measurement is in relation to time, weight, volume, length, and area, the idea of measurement expanded to include more disciplines such as pressure, temperature, electrical current, and radio waves over time.

 

Measurement is used in several sciences such as engineering, construction, and information technology, however, this blog will delve deeper into the history of measurement in health care. In particular, nursing.

 


References

Augustyn, A. (2020). measurement | Definition, Types, Instruments, & Facts | Britannica. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/measurement

Bryner, J. (2013, March 20). Ancient Egyptian Sundial Discovered at Valley of the Kings. Livescience.com; Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/28057-ancient-egyptian-sundial-discovered.html

Mingren, W. (2014, July 3). The Ancient Invention of the Water Clock. Ancient-Origins.net; Ancient Origins. https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-technology/ancient-invention-water-clock-001818

Vitrek. (2022). The History of Measurements | 14th Century to 21st Century. MTI Instruments. https://mtiinstruments.com/knowledge-center/history-of-measurements/

Young, G. (2016). Cubit | measurement. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/cubit 

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