Name: Size
Rating: 3.1 (33 reviews)
Author: Vaclav Smil

What’s in it for me? Challenge your perceptions, inspire your decisions, and reshape your understanding of reality.

Have you ever stood beside a towering skyscraper and felt utterly dwarfed, or marveled at the minuscule intricacies of a snowflake? You see, you’ve already embarked on the adventure of size. From the chair you’re sitting in to the city that surrounds you, from the airplane that takes you across continents to the microchips in your smartphone, size plays a starring role in your life.

Take a moment to consider this: once, as a child, you may have tried to fit into your parents’ oversized shoes, hobbling around, giggling at the absurdity. That small act was your first encounter with the fundamental concept of size. As you grew, your world expanded, and so did your understanding of size.

Your fascinating journey continues in this Blink. Not just in the way we instinctively perceive the world, but also how size influences our cultural norms, scientific understanding, and technological development. It’s a voyage that spans the quantum to the cosmic, revealing the intricate relationships between size, perception, and human ambition. Buckle up. This exploration might just resize your worldview.

Size matters

In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver finds himself in the strange world of Houyhnhnms – highly intelligent, eloquent horses – and brutish Yahoos, creatures with an uncanny human-like appearance. Despite his intelligence, Gulliver is deemed a “gentle Yahoo” due to his size and appearance, subtly revealing how our physical dimensions shape our identities and the way we’re perceived by others.

The concept of size pervades all facets of our existence, leaving imprints on our cultures. Many languages, for example, have intricate ways to express size; in Japanese, there are three distinct forms to denote size, underlining the societal importance given to it. From societal traditions to popular folklore, size is often viewed as a symbol of status, power, or significance across cultures.

In the scientific world, the understanding and measurement of size often poses profound challenges. An example is the paradox of the British coastline: its calculated length varies dramatically depending on the scale of the map used, reflecting the complexities of quantifying size in real-world scenarios.

Size also permeates our daily lives, creating a world defined by accepted and expected dimensions. Observe the world around you, and you’ll find countless instances where dimensions play a vital role – from the size of your clothes and the height of each step in a staircase to the layout and scale of your home. Any deviation from these norms – such as an oddly tall step or an overly large piece of furniture – can feel startlingly disruptive, underlining our deep-rooted conditioning by size.

However, society’s obsession with size often comes with unintended consequences. The relentless pursuit of growth can lead to economic monopolies, environmental degradation, overpopulation, and an overlooking of the smaller, subtler details that hold intrinsic beauty and value.

Size and precision, too, share a captivating, symbiotic relationship. Enormous structures like skyscrapers rely on meticulously precise, micro-scale architectural and engineering systems for their construction. In technology, the twin trends of miniaturization and enlargement influence diverse fields – from medicine, where nanotechnology is revolutionizing treatments, to energy, where vast solar farms contribute to a sustainable future.

Size isn’t merely about physical dimensions – it’s a fundamental aspect of our cultural, scientific, and technological narratives. Gaining a deeper understanding of size not only illuminates its practical relevance but also unravels its intricate connections with our perceptions, values, and aspirations. Whether we’re navigating the peculiar world of Swift’s Houyhnhnms and Yahoos or delving into the mysterious domain of quantum physics, it’s vital to remember that size, more than just a measure, is an integral chapter of our human story.

From atoms to galaxies

In the grand cosmic theater, we are smaller than an atom compared to a star, yet within the earthly realm, we rise as giants taming the elements. This dramatic paradox encapsulates our multifaceted relationship with size and scale, a quiet, omnipresent force shaping our perception of the world.

The information our senses gather, from the echo of a sound bouncing off walls to the sweet scent of a blooming flower, is fundamental in our interpretation of size and distance. Sight, however, often takes center stage as the chief adjudicator of scale. It’s a role subtly informed and influenced by the dimensions of our bodies and how we interact with our environment.

Proportions and our perception of beauty

Picture this: You’re at an art gallery, meandering past a vibrant mosaic of paintings and sculptures. Suddenly, your gaze is ensnared by a particular piece. It isn’t the grandest or the most colorful, nor does it bear an unconventional shape. Despite wracking your brain, you can’t pinpoint what precisely drew your attention. Such is the fascinating puzzle of human perception – a complex tapestry woven from diverse threads of size, proportions, symmetry, and sometimes the elusive golden ratio.

Consider the world around us – the awe-inspiring spectacle of the towering El Capitan cliff, the incongruity of a mammoth cruise ship gracefully navigating Venice’s narrow canals. These instances of size, in absolute or relative terms, effortlessly arrest our attention. Over millennia, our brains have evolved to become exquisitely attuned to such anomalies, playing a critical role in our survival.

The boundaries of scale

Airline seats, towering top hats, and miniature computer chips – what do these have in common? They’re all products of human design, shaped by shifting trends and our relentless quest for better, bigger, or smaller. But how well do they cater to our needs, comfort, and well-being? Let’s take a peek into the dynamic world of human-centric design, technological limitations, and the concept of “human scale.”

Historically, humans have oscillated between favoring aesthetics and status over comfort and function. For instance, the confining hoop skirts and towering top hats of yesteryears, and today’s rubber flip-flops, were more symbols of status than practical attire. The problem with this is that they can cause discomfort and health issues. Similarly, furniture design often neglects the critical study of ergonomics, which can contribute to health problems, especially considering our increasingly sedentary lifestyle.

Unexpected twists

Welcome aboard the metabolic train, the journey to understanding life’s vital fueling system. All creatures depend on it, from the tiniest insects to the largest mammals. But here’s a plot twist: being larger doesn’t necessarily mean needing more fuel!

This unexpected truth is illustrated by the work of Max Kleiber in 1932. Kleiber discovered that energy requirements scale not directly with body mass but as the cube-root of mass. This means that the larger an organism, the less food it needs relative to its size. This counterintuitive principle is part of what makes metabolism so fascinating.

Key ideas in Size