Title: The measure of reality : quantification and Western society, 1250-1600 /
Authors: Crosby, Alfred W.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press,
Year: 1997
Subjects: Historiometry.; History Methodology; Civilization, Medieval; Renaissance; History methods.; Civilization history; History; Time; Mathematics; Art; Music; Weights and Measures; Europe History; Europe History
Abstract: "The Measure of Reality discusses the epochal shift from qualitative to quantitative perception in Western Europe during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. This shift made modern science, technology, business practice, and bureaucracy possible. It affected not only the obvious - such as measurements of time and space and mathematical technique - but, equally and simultaneously, music and painting, thus proving that the shift was even more profound than once thought."--Jacket.
Contents: Pantometry achieved. Pantometry: an introduction ; The venerable model ; Necessary but insufficient causes ; Time ; Space ; Mathematics -- Striking the match: Visualization. Visualization: an introduction ; Music ; Painting ; Bookkeeping -- Epilogue. The new model.