Colder Than Denmark

There's no such thing as an arbitrary number. Almost every time a number is assigned to something by a human, at least part of that number refers to something. An ISBN tells you the book's publisher, for instance. But humans also tend to forget referents, or to change things without changing the numbering scheme, so that numbers that once made some sort of sense now appear arbitrary.

( A Tale of Two Temperature Scales )

Now, I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

( A Tale of Two Sizing Scales )

Colder Than Denmark

There's no such thing as an arbitrary number. Almost every time a number is assigned to something by a human, at least part of that number refers to something. An ISBN tells you the book's publisher, for instance. But humans also tend to forget referents, or to change things without changing the numbering scheme, so that numbers that once made some sort of sense now appear arbitrary.

( A Tale of Two Temperature Scales )

Now, I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

( A Tale of Two Sizing Scales )