xxv
Acknowledgments
My research and teaching activities developed along sometimes parallel and sometimes convergent lines, and this was possible thanks to the masters on whose shoulders I stood in these years. This book is an opportunity for paying respect to some
of them: Piero Mussio, who for the first time made me feel the charm and the thorns
of the scientific research; Mariano Cunietti, who disclosed to me how measurement
is a fascinating subject, both scientifically and philosophically; Camillo Bussolati,
who decided to involve me, at that time a young PhD student, in a challenging academic endeavor; Ludwik Finkelstein, who widened my then still quite narrow horizons; Sergio Sartori, who accompanied me in discovering the world of metrology;
Andrea Taroni, who effectively arranged a context for my work. I devote a grateful
thought to the memory of each of them. Coming to the present, my contribution to
this book stems from the many conversations that in years I have had with several
colleagues and friends. Thank you, Alessandro Giordani, for the long path we
walked together in understanding measurement in a philosophical frame. Thank
you, Pietro Micheli, for your clever challenges about measurement in organizations.
Thank you, Dario Petri and Paolo Carbone, for what we have done together at the
threshold between the “theory” and the “practice” of measurement science. Thank
you, Jo Goodwin, for what we have done together in the development of Electropedia,
the core terminological resource of the International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC). Thanks, present and past colleagues of Working Group 2 (VIM) of the Joint
Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM): working for the International
Vocabulary of Metrology with you has been an exceptional opportunity for clarifying and sharpening my ideas. Thank you, Chuck Ehrlich: you proved to me that
something good may come forth when differences converge. And thank you, Mark
and Andy: almost 10 years after our first meeting and hundreds of pages written
together, I am even more convinced that interdisciplinarity is the best way to nourish
our minds. The Internet has embedded us in a wide small-world network: there are
many who might see traces of our conversations in this book. It has been a privilege
to learn with and from all of you.
Luca Mari
Acknowledgments
My research and teaching activities developed along sometimes parallel and sometimes convergent lines, and this was possible thanks to the masters on whose shoulders I stood in these years. This book is an opportunity for paying respect to some
of them: Piero Mussio, who for the first time made me feel the charm and the thorns
of the scientific research; Mariano Cunietti, who disclosed to me how measurement
is a fascinating subject, both scientifically and philosophically; Camillo Bussolati,
who decided to involve me, at that time a young PhD student, in a challenging academic endeavor; Ludwik Finkelstein, who widened my then still quite narrow horizons; Sergio Sartori, who accompanied me in discovering the world of metrology;
Andrea Taroni, who effectively arranged a context for my work. I devote a grateful
thought to the memory of each of them. Coming to the present, my contribution to
this book stems from the many conversations that in years I have had with several
colleagues and friends. Thank you, Alessandro Giordani, for the long path we
walked together in understanding measurement in a philosophical frame. Thank
you, Pietro Micheli, for your clever challenges about measurement in organizations.
Thank you, Dario Petri and Paolo Carbone, for what we have done together at the
threshold between the “theory” and the “practice” of measurement science. Thank
you, Jo Goodwin, for what we have done together in the development of Electropedia,
the core terminological resource of the International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC). Thanks, present and past colleagues of Working Group 2 (VIM) of the Joint
Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM): working for the International
Vocabulary of Metrology with you has been an exceptional opportunity for clarifying and sharpening my ideas. Thank you, Chuck Ehrlich: you proved to me that
something good may come forth when differences converge. And thank you, Mark
and Andy: almost 10 years after our first meeting and hundreds of pages written
together, I am even more convinced that interdisciplinarity is the best way to nourish
our minds. The Internet has embedded us in a wide small-world network: there are
many who might see traces of our conversations in this book. It has been a privilege
to learn with and from all of you.
Luca Mari