xxiii
fundamentally is, highlighting the distinction between direct and indirect (methods
of) measurement in reference to the role that models and computation have in the
process. We consider it the core of the book. Chapter 8 has been written so as to
offer a view of the path walked through the previous chapters, and leading to a characterization of measurement across the sciences and fields of applications: as such,
it could be read as a summary of the entire book.
As mentioned above, some parts of the book stand alone and may be useful as
such: Chap. 4 on the philosophical conceptions of measurement, Chaps. 5 and 6 on
properties, and Chap. 8 as an overall summary.
In a complex and dynamic field as measurement science is, no book can claim to
have the “last word”, and surely this book does not have such an ambition. More
humbly, we hope that it will contribute to widening the interest in investigating the
foundations of our empirical knowledge and the critical role that measurement
plays in them.
Castellanza, Varese, Italy
Luca Mari
Berkeley, CA
Mark Wilson
Santa Barbara, CA
Andrew Maul
Preface
fundamentally is, highlighting the distinction between direct and indirect (methods
of) measurement in reference to the role that models and computation have in the
process. We consider it the core of the book. Chapter 8 has been written so as to
offer a view of the path walked through the previous chapters, and leading to a characterization of measurement across the sciences and fields of applications: as such,
it could be read as a summary of the entire book.
As mentioned above, some parts of the book stand alone and may be useful as
such: Chap. 4 on the philosophical conceptions of measurement, Chaps. 5 and 6 on
properties, and Chap. 8 as an overall summary.
In a complex and dynamic field as measurement science is, no book can claim to
have the “last word”, and surely this book does not have such an ambition. More
humbly, we hope that it will contribute to widening the interest in investigating the
foundations of our empirical knowledge and the critical role that measurement
plays in them.
Castellanza, Varese, Italy
Luca Mari
Berkeley, CA
Mark Wilson
Santa Barbara, CA
Andrew Maul
Preface