Everything in the world is measured and that many of these measurements have been named after the greatest engineers. The most obvious example is the watt, which measures electricity, and which was named by James Watt, the inventor of the modern steam engine. Joule and Newton were both physicist and have been immortalized in the measurement of energy... joules and newtons. Everyday we measure the atmospheric heat in either Fahrenheit or Celsius. The first was a German physicist, the second a Swedish astronomer. We measure distance and height and speed and brightness. If you wish to buy anything from a shoe to a sheet of paper, you ask for it by size. There are measurements that many people have never even heard of: pyron, palmo, and petaflop. But here is the strange thing. There has never been a measurement for something we experience almost everyday of our lives. There has never been a measurement for pain. Can you imagine how useful that would be, if you were to go to the dentist and he was able to reassure you? ‘Dont worry, my dear fellow, this is going to hurt you only two and a half units.’ Or if you went to the doctor with a damaged knee and you were able to tell him it hurt seven units up here—but three units down here, above the knee? Of course, it is very difficult to measure pain. It all depends on how how nerves react and what the stimulus is—the knife, electricity, fire, bullet, acid—that has caused the pain. But I still believe it is possible to develop a universal scale. And I very much hope that one day the unit of pain will indeed be named after me. And people will be able to say exactly how many units will result in certain death.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 02:19:38 +0000
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