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Measuring the World
Measuring the World marks the debut of a glorious new talent on the international scene. Young Austrian writer Daniel Kehlmann’s brilliant comic novel revolves around the meeting of two colossal geniuses of the Enlightenment.
Late in the eighteenth century, two young Germans set out to measure the world. One of them, the aristocratic naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, negotiates jungles, voyages down the Orinoco River, tastes poisons, climbs the highest mountain known to man, counts head lice, and explores and measures every cave and hill he comes across. The other, the reclusive and barely socialized mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, can prove that space is curved without leaving his home. Terrifyingly famous and wildly eccentric, these two polar opposites finally meet in Berlin in 1828, and are immediately embroiled in the turmoil of the post-Napoleonic world.
Late in the eighteenth century, two young Germans set out to measure the world. One of them, the aristocratic naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, negotiates jungles, voyages down the Orinoco River, tastes poisons, climbs the highest mountain known to man, counts head lice, and explores and measures every cave and hill he comes across. The other, the reclusive and barely socialized mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, can prove that space is curved without leaving his home. Terrifyingly famous and wildly eccentric, these two polar opposites finally meet in Berlin in 1828, and are immediately embroiled in the turmoil of the post-Napoleonic world.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Daniel Kehlmann
84 books1,559 followersDaniel Kehlmann is a German-Austrian author.
His novel Measuring the World (German: Die Vermessung der Welt) was translated into more than forty languages. Awards his work has received include the Candide Prize, the Literature Prize of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Heimito von Doderer Literature Award, the Kleist Prize, the WELT Literature Prize, and the Thomas Mann Prize. Kehlmann divides his time between Vienna and Berlin.
His novel Measuring the World (German: Die Vermessung der Welt) was translated into more than forty languages. Awards his work has received include the Candide Prize, the Literature Prize of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Heimito von Doderer Literature Award, the Kleist Prize, the WELT Literature Prize, and the Thomas Mann Prize. Kehlmann divides his time between Vienna and Berlin.
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August 15, 2020
The Gene(ius) Pool
In the early 19th century Germany ruled the intellectual world. Or more accurately, given that Germany didn’t yet exist, German was the globally dominant language of science, philosophy, and most other cultural pursuits. Measuring the World is a light-hearted docudrama of the intersecting life of two of the most important intellectual leaders of the period: The explorer and naturalist (and Prussian) Alexander von Humboldt, and the mathematical prodigy Carl Friedrich Gauss (an Hanoverian). Together they transformed human understanding of both things and symbols, as well as the connection between things and symbols. That is to say, they created a new language.
The backgrounds of these two men show that genius is purely genetic. Humboldt was a member of a well-fed, well-educated, and well-connected elite. Gauss’s mother, on the other hand, was illiterate and his father was a labourer. Humboldt survived a young brother who tried to kill him, and being raised by the servants. Gauss survived the persecution of jealous teachers and a social awkwardness verging on the autistic. Both thrived because they were recognised and rewarded by monarchical rulers as contributing to German culture. One wonders what their fates might have been in the competitive academic milieu of a modern pragmatic democracy.
Above all two traits/principles/character flaws unite these two men. First, for them everything is connected to everything else. Distinctions between areas of knowledge are not simply arbitrary, they are irrelevant. Both defy classification into a definite academic niche. They are quite simply interested in everything that is, a sort of openness which is astounding in its apparent lack of limits. If they had taken up painting, they would be considered today greater than Michelangelo (thus the power of visual advertising!)
Second, both shared a passion for numbers. Numbers are what brought reality closer. They reduced the gap between what Kant (yes, another German) had called the thing-in-itself and our perception of it. Measurement was philosophy in action. Increasing precision in measurement meant progress, an improvement in understanding that was demonstrable. Numbers, as the ancient Greeks suggested, provided a sort of divine view of the world. Numbers were fixed in their relations to each other, unlike natural language which was fuzzy and required less than perfect translation out of the mother-tongue into barbaric dialects like English and French.
What the two men did was to create a new cultural era. Measurement was a metaphor for hope. Kant’s aporias didn’t imply an intellectual dead end. And hadn’t he put religion aside into a parallel world that seemed increasingly unnecessary? Numbers could improve the world not just describe it. Numbers formed the new foundation for human salvation. They were almost magical in their power to reveal and explain how the world came to be, to simplify its apparent complexity, and to predict its further development. Numbers were the future. Numbers touched reality:
The patterns revealed by numbers allowed the telling of stories which had never been told before. Stories of intense heat in the Earth, of antiquities older than ever before dreamed of, stories of parallel lines that meet, of bizarre celestial phenomena. The language of numbers wasn’t just more reliable than any other language, it was bigger. It permitted discussion of things no other languages knew about. It pointed to things that were hidden in normal speech. It resolved paradoxes and suggested previously unthought possibilities.
The world got used to being measured. The web of numbers imposed itself upon the world so thoroughly that it was taken as the world. This is what all languages do, and perhaps the language of numbers best of all. Human beings engage in this fantasy of language as reality in order to maintain hope or, more generally, to stay sane. Faith in measurement is even more intense than faith in God. As it turns out the object of the two faiths is exactly the same: language. Language is our fundamental technology and we worship it. Today, we have a new language - digital electronics - in which we have as deep a faith as Humboldt and Gauss had in theirs. Genius, it seems, even exceptional German genius is not immune to the temptation of idolatry.
In the early 19th century Germany ruled the intellectual world. Or more accurately, given that Germany didn’t yet exist, German was the globally dominant language of science, philosophy, and most other cultural pursuits. Measuring the World is a light-hearted docudrama of the intersecting life of two of the most important intellectual leaders of the period: The explorer and naturalist (and Prussian) Alexander von Humboldt, and the mathematical prodigy Carl Friedrich Gauss (an Hanoverian). Together they transformed human understanding of both things and symbols, as well as the connection between things and symbols. That is to say, they created a new language.
The backgrounds of these two men show that genius is purely genetic. Humboldt was a member of a well-fed, well-educated, and well-connected elite. Gauss’s mother, on the other hand, was illiterate and his father was a labourer. Humboldt survived a young brother who tried to kill him, and being raised by the servants. Gauss survived the persecution of jealous teachers and a social awkwardness verging on the autistic. Both thrived because they were recognised and rewarded by monarchical rulers as contributing to German culture. One wonders what their fates might have been in the competitive academic milieu of a modern pragmatic democracy.
Above all two traits/principles/character flaws unite these two men. First, for them everything is connected to everything else. Distinctions between areas of knowledge are not simply arbitrary, they are irrelevant. Both defy classification into a definite academic niche. They are quite simply interested in everything that is, a sort of openness which is astounding in its apparent lack of limits. If they had taken up painting, they would be considered today greater than Michelangelo (thus the power of visual advertising!)
Second, both shared a passion for numbers. Numbers are what brought reality closer. They reduced the gap between what Kant (yes, another German) had called the thing-in-itself and our perception of it. Measurement was philosophy in action. Increasing precision in measurement meant progress, an improvement in understanding that was demonstrable. Numbers, as the ancient Greeks suggested, provided a sort of divine view of the world. Numbers were fixed in their relations to each other, unlike natural language which was fuzzy and required less than perfect translation out of the mother-tongue into barbaric dialects like English and French.
What the two men did was to create a new cultural era. Measurement was a metaphor for hope. Kant’s aporias didn’t imply an intellectual dead end. And hadn’t he put religion aside into a parallel world that seemed increasingly unnecessary? Numbers could improve the world not just describe it. Numbers formed the new foundation for human salvation. They were almost magical in their power to reveal and explain how the world came to be, to simplify its apparent complexity, and to predict its further development. Numbers were the future. Numbers touched reality:
“At the base of physics were rules, at the base of rules there were laws, at the base of laws there were numbers; if one looked at them intently, one could recognize relationships between them, repulsions or attractions.”
The patterns revealed by numbers allowed the telling of stories which had never been told before. Stories of intense heat in the Earth, of antiquities older than ever before dreamed of, stories of parallel lines that meet, of bizarre celestial phenomena. The language of numbers wasn’t just more reliable than any other language, it was bigger. It permitted discussion of things no other languages knew about. It pointed to things that were hidden in normal speech. It resolved paradoxes and suggested previously unthought possibilities.
The world got used to being measured. The web of numbers imposed itself upon the world so thoroughly that it was taken as the world. This is what all languages do, and perhaps the language of numbers best of all. Human beings engage in this fantasy of language as reality in order to maintain hope or, more generally, to stay sane. Faith in measurement is even more intense than faith in God. As it turns out the object of the two faiths is exactly the same: language. Language is our fundamental technology and we worship it. Today, we have a new language - digital electronics - in which we have as deep a faith as Humboldt and Gauss had in theirs. Genius, it seems, even exceptional German genius is not immune to the temptation of idolatry.
November 7, 2025
VAGABONDI DELLE STELLE
Ho l’impressione, disse Humboldt, che qui non si faccia altro che raccontare. A che scopo quell’ininterrotto tessere trame inventate da cui non si ricavava alcun insegnamento morale?
Daniel Kehlmann racconta e racconta. Ma le sue trame non sono inventate. O, se non altro, hanno buoni basi storiche e di verità. In quanto racconta di Humboldt che è proprio quello celebre, Alexander von Humboldt, nato a Berlino nel 1769 e morto sempre a Berlino nel 1859, naturalista, esploratore, geografo e botanico. E “qui” è l’Orinoco: è sul fiume Orinoco quando Humboldt fa la riflessione riportata sopra.
C’è un altro personaggio che Kehlamnn pone sotto la lente del suo microscopio: il suo racconto infatti avanza a capitoli alterni, in uno parla di Humboldt, nel successivo parallelamente di Gauss.
Nel senso di Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), matematico, fisico e astronomo tedesco, contemporaneo di Humboldt. Gauss produsse contributi determinanti in varie discipline, a cominciare dalla dimostrazione della curvatura dello spazio: analisi matematica, teoria dei numeri, statistica, calcolo numerico, geometria differenziale, geodesia, geofisica, magnetismo, elettrostatica, astronomia, ottica.
Kehlmann racconta entrambi con ironia, quasi giocando anche quando i fatti narrati sono più che seri, drammatici.
Così, per esempio si apprende che Gauss capisce come si possono correggere gli errori di misurazione delle orbite dei pianeti proprio nel cuore della sua prima notte di nozze: e prima di consumare, corre a scrivere appunti. Oppure che Gauss ignora che trasferendosi a Gottinga finiva in territorio francese: perché ignora che sono in guerra con Napoleone, e l’imperatore francese sta vincendo a man bassa.
A Humboldt sta stretto il castello di famiglia: ha bisogno di spazi, viaggi, avventure, scoperte di piante e animali sconosciuti. Per farlo rischia la vita e soffre disagi e fatiche.
Gauss è l’esatto contrario: non vuole allontanarsi dal nido, Gottinga è il suo universo. Ma pur senza muoversi, riuscì ad avere chiara la misura del mondo, e perfino dell’universo, anche dal suo cantuccio: un punto d’osservazione fisso gli spalanca la visione d’insieme del cosmo, che sa tradurre in formule matematiche.
Questi due approcci diversi e opposti sembrano quasi indicare due modi differenti di scrivere, che però convergono verso lo stesso obiettivo: fare letteratura.
Un po’ ricostruendo, un po’ inventando, Daniel Kehlmann, appena trentenne, da vita ai due scienziati - che più diversi non potrebbero essere – e li fa incontrare, ormai anziani, a Berlino nel 1828, nella Germania post-napoleonica, rappresentanti e icone di un modo di intendere la scienza e la ricerca che per diverse ragioni stava tramontando.
Ho l’impressione, disse Humboldt, che qui non si faccia altro che raccontare. A che scopo quell’ininterrotto tessere trame inventate da cui non si ricavava alcun insegnamento morale?
Daniel Kehlmann racconta e racconta. Ma le sue trame non sono inventate. O, se non altro, hanno buoni basi storiche e di verità. In quanto racconta di Humboldt che è proprio quello celebre, Alexander von Humboldt, nato a Berlino nel 1769 e morto sempre a Berlino nel 1859, naturalista, esploratore, geografo e botanico. E “qui” è l’Orinoco: è sul fiume Orinoco quando Humboldt fa la riflessione riportata sopra.
C’è un altro personaggio che Kehlamnn pone sotto la lente del suo microscopio: il suo racconto infatti avanza a capitoli alterni, in uno parla di Humboldt, nel successivo parallelamente di Gauss.
Nel senso di Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777 – 1855), matematico, fisico e astronomo tedesco, contemporaneo di Humboldt. Gauss produsse contributi determinanti in varie discipline, a cominciare dalla dimostrazione della curvatura dello spazio: analisi matematica, teoria dei numeri, statistica, calcolo numerico, geometria differenziale, geodesia, geofisica, magnetismo, elettrostatica, astronomia, ottica.
Kehlmann racconta entrambi con ironia, quasi giocando anche quando i fatti narrati sono più che seri, drammatici.
Così, per esempio si apprende che Gauss capisce come si possono correggere gli errori di misurazione delle orbite dei pianeti proprio nel cuore della sua prima notte di nozze: e prima di consumare, corre a scrivere appunti. Oppure che Gauss ignora che trasferendosi a Gottinga finiva in territorio francese: perché ignora che sono in guerra con Napoleone, e l’imperatore francese sta vincendo a man bassa.
A Humboldt sta stretto il castello di famiglia: ha bisogno di spazi, viaggi, avventure, scoperte di piante e animali sconosciuti. Per farlo rischia la vita e soffre disagi e fatiche.
Gauss è l’esatto contrario: non vuole allontanarsi dal nido, Gottinga è il suo universo. Ma pur senza muoversi, riuscì ad avere chiara la misura del mondo, e perfino dell’universo, anche dal suo cantuccio: un punto d’osservazione fisso gli spalanca la visione d’insieme del cosmo, che sa tradurre in formule matematiche.
Questi due approcci diversi e opposti sembrano quasi indicare due modi differenti di scrivere, che però convergono verso lo stesso obiettivo: fare letteratura.
Un po’ ricostruendo, un po’ inventando, Daniel Kehlmann, appena trentenne, da vita ai due scienziati - che più diversi non potrebbero essere – e li fa incontrare, ormai anziani, a Berlino nel 1828, nella Germania post-napoleonica, rappresentanti e icone di un modo di intendere la scienza e la ricerca che per diverse ragioni stava tramontando.
May 13, 2017
"I want to explore the world!"
That is a quite common answer if you ask a group of motivated preteen students what they want to do when they grow up. Hungry little caterpillars, they eat their way through a mixed diet of knowledge and skills over the course of their education before entering the strange teenage cocoon stage when they can't be bothered with anything but their own physical and social development.
As a teacher, you look at all these potential explorers, and their diverse approaches to life, and to learning and interpretation of reality, and you think:
"I have no doubt that they will explore the world, but what EXACTLY that will mean, nobody can tell until they are fully developed butterflies, with their own individual patterns and flight routes!"
That is the core of the story Kehlmann tells, by using the examples of two famous adventurers of the Enlightenment. You can sit in your room and explore the abstract world of mathematics in your own isolated brain, like Gauss, or you can climb mountains, swim through rivers, march through swamps, and collect physical evidence of your journey, like Alexander von Humboldt. Either way, you will be exploring the world, according to your needs, your history, your education and your personality.
Genius has many shapes, and expresses itself in various ways, is the optimistic message (a life-saving one for teachers who work with the post-caterpillar, pre-butterfly cocoon-stage).
Geniuses are humans with specific talents and difficulties, and their own issues, is the realistic conclusion, and all it takes to cross the line between ordinary talent and genius may be a stubborn curious desire to move on towards an ever changing horizon.
Geniuses achieve great things with ordinary bodies and minds, and extraordinary belief in the possibilities of the world.
Geniuses can be grumpy and worried and arrogant and absent-minded and just plain funny, they come in all colours and shapes.
What do they have in common? They use their wings!
That is a quite common answer if you ask a group of motivated preteen students what they want to do when they grow up. Hungry little caterpillars, they eat their way through a mixed diet of knowledge and skills over the course of their education before entering the strange teenage cocoon stage when they can't be bothered with anything but their own physical and social development.
As a teacher, you look at all these potential explorers, and their diverse approaches to life, and to learning and interpretation of reality, and you think:
"I have no doubt that they will explore the world, but what EXACTLY that will mean, nobody can tell until they are fully developed butterflies, with their own individual patterns and flight routes!"
That is the core of the story Kehlmann tells, by using the examples of two famous adventurers of the Enlightenment. You can sit in your room and explore the abstract world of mathematics in your own isolated brain, like Gauss, or you can climb mountains, swim through rivers, march through swamps, and collect physical evidence of your journey, like Alexander von Humboldt. Either way, you will be exploring the world, according to your needs, your history, your education and your personality.
Genius has many shapes, and expresses itself in various ways, is the optimistic message (a life-saving one for teachers who work with the post-caterpillar, pre-butterfly cocoon-stage).
Geniuses are humans with specific talents and difficulties, and their own issues, is the realistic conclusion, and all it takes to cross the line between ordinary talent and genius may be a stubborn curious desire to move on towards an ever changing horizon.
Geniuses achieve great things with ordinary bodies and minds, and extraordinary belief in the possibilities of the world.
Geniuses can be grumpy and worried and arrogant and absent-minded and just plain funny, they come in all colours and shapes.
What do they have in common? They use their wings!
July 23, 2020
This novel was very popular in Germany when it came out (titled Die Vermessung der Welt) and it along with another book he wrote in 2003, Ich und Kaminski [Me and Kaminski], won the Kleist Prize for literature in 2006. This is the second book I have tried by this author, and I gave Fame a ‘solid’ 3 stars. This one was a tough one to get through…I was waiting for it to finally get over which is a not a good sign. 2 stars. ☹
How does one credibly review a book when one reads this on Wikipedia: His novel Die Vermessung der Welt (translated into English by Carol Brown Janeway as Measuring the World, 2006) is the best-selling book in the German language since Patrick Süskind's Perfume was released in 1985. According to The New York Times, it was the world's second best-selling novel in 2006.
What the hell is wrong with me?!
In this book the lives of two famous German people are depicted: Dr. Carl Friedrich Gauss, the world famous mathematician/physicist. We are told their life stories in the third person. Later on in the novel they meet. As far as I can tell this is not a work of historical fiction, although from briefly looking at Wikipedia certainly their professional actions are duly noted and described in the book.
It is Kehlmann’s depiction of their personal lives and those they interacted with I did not like. Two examples then I will gracefully leave:
• Jim: Humboldt is exploring in Venezuela and came across a mission (I guess a missionary living with the natives)… “The inhabitants of the mission were turning spits over a fire with the head of a child, three tiny hands, and four little feet with what were clearly toes. Not human, explained the missionary. They stopped whatever they could. Just little monkeys from the forest. Bonpland refused to eat any. Humboldt hesitated, but took a hand and bit into it. It didn’t taste bad but he didn’t feel well. Would people be offended of he didn’t eat it all? The missionary shook his head, mouth full. Nobody would notice!”
Later that evening ensues a conversation between Kehlmann and his fellow explorers debating over whether what they were eating was human flesh. The way Kehlmann presented the dialog was in a comical sort of way. I was just grossed out. One, if cannibalism had taken place, I know nothing about why cannibalism occurs…how the practice originated, why it occurs….but I don’t find it to be a laughing matter. Cannibalism occurs/occurred — don’t portray it as funny and don’t put it on the shoulders of the “natives”.
• One of Humboldt’s fellow explorers has sex with a chieftain’s daughter. Humboldt and his fellow explorers just came upon this group of people that same day. Was the sex consensual? Am I supposed to find this also cute or humorous…I know these kind of events occurred and how explorers sometimes treated those they came upon…but the way Kehlmann presented it just disturbed me. His style of writing was not dark in this novel…it was supposed to be witty…so coming across this and the way he presented it just bothered me.
...And this was less than halfway through the book. The putative cannibalism was less than halfway through the book. So these two events really disturbed me and I still had over half of a book to go through. And one of the protagonists, Gauss, was a prick…after his wife died in childbirth within that hour he was literally thinking about finding another wife (“He pushed back the chair and tried to accustom himself to the thought that he would have to marry again. He had children. He had no idea how one brought them up. He couldn’t run a household. Servants cost money").
So there. I have vented my spleen. 😕
Note: this is the fifth book I have read that has been translated by Carol Brown Janeway. Wow, she was an impressive translator!!! 😊 She translated the following:
• My Prizes, by Thomas Bernhard
• The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink
• Embers, by Sándor Márai
• Crime, by Ferdinand von Schirach
• Guilt, by Ferdinand von Schirach
• Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann
• Fragments. Memories of a Wartime Childhood, by Binjamin Wilkomirski
From Yiddish[edit]
• Yosl Rakover Talks to God, by Zvi Kolitz.
From Dutch[edit]
• The Storm, by Margriet de Moor
From French[edit]
• Desolation, by Yasmina Reza
Reviews of Measuring the World
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/bo...
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
• from a blog site: http://dannyreviews.com/h/Measuring_W...
How does one credibly review a book when one reads this on Wikipedia: His novel Die Vermessung der Welt (translated into English by Carol Brown Janeway as Measuring the World, 2006) is the best-selling book in the German language since Patrick Süskind's Perfume was released in 1985. According to The New York Times, it was the world's second best-selling novel in 2006.
What the hell is wrong with me?!
In this book the lives of two famous German people are depicted: Dr. Carl Friedrich Gauss, the world famous mathematician/physicist. We are told their life stories in the third person. Later on in the novel they meet. As far as I can tell this is not a work of historical fiction, although from briefly looking at Wikipedia certainly their professional actions are duly noted and described in the book.
It is Kehlmann’s depiction of their personal lives and those they interacted with I did not like. Two examples then I will gracefully leave:
• Jim: Humboldt is exploring in Venezuela and came across a mission (I guess a missionary living with the natives)… “The inhabitants of the mission were turning spits over a fire with the head of a child, three tiny hands, and four little feet with what were clearly toes. Not human, explained the missionary. They stopped whatever they could. Just little monkeys from the forest. Bonpland refused to eat any. Humboldt hesitated, but took a hand and bit into it. It didn’t taste bad but he didn’t feel well. Would people be offended of he didn’t eat it all? The missionary shook his head, mouth full. Nobody would notice!”
Later that evening ensues a conversation between Kehlmann and his fellow explorers debating over whether what they were eating was human flesh. The way Kehlmann presented the dialog was in a comical sort of way. I was just grossed out. One, if cannibalism had taken place, I know nothing about why cannibalism occurs…how the practice originated, why it occurs….but I don’t find it to be a laughing matter. Cannibalism occurs/occurred — don’t portray it as funny and don’t put it on the shoulders of the “natives”.
• One of Humboldt’s fellow explorers has sex with a chieftain’s daughter. Humboldt and his fellow explorers just came upon this group of people that same day. Was the sex consensual? Am I supposed to find this also cute or humorous…I know these kind of events occurred and how explorers sometimes treated those they came upon…but the way Kehlmann presented it just disturbed me. His style of writing was not dark in this novel…it was supposed to be witty…so coming across this and the way he presented it just bothered me.
...And this was less than halfway through the book. The putative cannibalism was less than halfway through the book. So these two events really disturbed me and I still had over half of a book to go through. And one of the protagonists, Gauss, was a prick…after his wife died in childbirth within that hour he was literally thinking about finding another wife (“He pushed back the chair and tried to accustom himself to the thought that he would have to marry again. He had children. He had no idea how one brought them up. He couldn’t run a household. Servants cost money").
So there. I have vented my spleen. 😕
Note: this is the fifth book I have read that has been translated by Carol Brown Janeway. Wow, she was an impressive translator!!! 😊 She translated the following:
• My Prizes, by Thomas Bernhard
• The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink
• Embers, by Sándor Márai
• Crime, by Ferdinand von Schirach
• Guilt, by Ferdinand von Schirach
• Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann
• Fragments. Memories of a Wartime Childhood, by Binjamin Wilkomirski
From Yiddish[edit]
• Yosl Rakover Talks to God, by Zvi Kolitz.
From Dutch[edit]
• The Storm, by Margriet de Moor
From French[edit]
• Desolation, by Yasmina Reza
Reviews of Measuring the World
• https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/bo...
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
• from a blog site: http://dannyreviews.com/h/Measuring_W...
October 16, 2017
تخرج من الإمتحان بعد ثلاث ساعات كاملة .. آلام في الرأس .. آلام في الكتفين من الوضع المنحني على الورقة .. آلام في العينين .. تذهب إلى أقرب زاوية لتبتعد عن الكلام .. تريد أن تستعيد تواجدك في العالم الحقيقي تدريجيا .. بعد أن كنت متواجدا في عالم الأرقام والمعادلات .. تسترخي قليلا محاولا إبعاد نفسك عن التفكير في إحاباتك على الورقة .. خمس دقائق تمضي .. عشر دقائق .. الآن تتمشى قليلا لتعيد ضخ الدماء إلى رجليك اليابستين من أثر الجلوس لمدة طويلة .. تمر ببعض الأصدقاء .. تحييهم بابتسامة .. يردها بعضهم والبعض الآخر لا .. لأنهم منهمكون في جدال عقيم .. تحاول الإبتعاد بأقصى سرعة .. ثم فجأة تسمع كلمة .. كلمة واحدة فقط تمر كتيار كهربائي لتستقر في عمودك الفقري .. تسير خطوتين ثم تتوقف .. " غوس !!" .. تحاول أن تتأكد أن ما سمعته صحيح .. يقول آخر " نعم غوس " .. تسأل نفسك ما دخل غوس ؟ ولماذا هم يتحدثون عنه ؟ .. ترجع للوراء قليلا وتسأل أحدهم : غوس ؟؟!! .. وقبل أن يجيبك .. وقبل أن تتحرك شفاهه .. ترتجف قليلا لأنك تعرف الإجابة .. نعم تعرفها حق المعرفة .. لم أستعمل نظرية غوس .. لم استعمل نظرية غوس !! .. وبالتالي أخطأت في الإجابة عن السؤال .. وبالتالي أخطأت في الإجابة عن باقي الأسئلة لأنها مترابطة .. وبالتالي يجب أن أعترف :
إنني أكرهك يا غوس :D
مسح العالم .. قياس الممالك في دروب المهالك .. رواية أو سير ذاتية لعالمين من كبار العلماء الذين أنجبتهم ألمانيا " كارل فريدريش غاوس أو غوس " و " ألكسندر فون هومبولت " الأول عبقري بكل ما تحمل الكلمة من معنى .. تسارعت نظرياته الرياضية واكتشافاته وهو لم يبلغ العشرين من العمر، والثاني شخص مثابر، مجاهد، محب للعلم وشغوف به .. جال وصال في براري الأمازون وأمريكا اللاتينية في سبيل العلم .
رواية جميلة وفيها معلومات متنوعة أرشحها لمن يحبون القراءة عن العلماء وحياتهم وأهم مكتشفاتهم .
إنني أكرهك يا غوس :D
مسح العالم .. قياس الممالك في دروب المهالك .. رواية أو سير ذاتية لعالمين من كبار العلماء الذين أنجبتهم ألمانيا " كارل فريدريش غاوس أو غوس " و " ألكسندر فون هومبولت " الأول عبقري بكل ما تحمل الكلمة من معنى .. تسارعت نظرياته الرياضية واكتشافاته وهو لم يبلغ العشرين من العمر، والثاني شخص مثابر، مجاهد، محب للعلم وشغوف به .. جال وصال في براري الأمازون وأمريكا اللاتينية في سبيل العلم .
رواية جميلة وفيها معلومات متنوعة أرشحها لمن يحبون القراءة عن العلماء وحياتهم وأهم مكتشفاتهم .
March 26, 2026
bilimin ve deliliğin birbirine karıştığı tuhaf bir yolculuktayız burada. ancak humboldt’la birlikte gerçekten yola çıkıyoruz, yoruluyoruz, merak ediyoruz, hasta oluyoruz yine de hiç vazgeçmiyoruz. nedense onun yolculuğu daha canlı, daha fiziksel geldi bana. gauss ise bambaşka, sanki bizimle arasında görünmez bir cam var. bize (ya da biz ona) bakıyor, görüyor ancak tam olarak temas etmiyor.
düşününce insan her şeyi kendi seçiyormuş gibi yaşıyor, oysa o kadar da özgür değiliz. planlar yapıyoruz, seviyoruz, kaybediyoruz ve en sonunda yaşlanıyoruz. gelgelelim, bunların arka planında işleyen bir düzen, bir matematik var sanki. dümdüz, ferah yollardan yürüdüğümüzü sanarken aslında çoktan çizilmiş bir çizginin üzerinde ilerliyoruz. humboldt ise buna karşı çıkıyor bir yerde. çünkü ona göre akıl dünyayı biçimlendirir. ne var ki burada gauss’a daha yakınım. çünkü akıl her şeyi açıklamaz, hatta çoğu şeyi daha da tuhaf bir hâle getirir. uzayın eğilip bükülmesi fikri gibi, bir doğruyu sonsuza kadar uzatsan bile bir noktada başladığın yere döneceksindir. belki de bunun için ölçmeye, adlandırmaya, düzeltmeye çalıştıkça daha da uzaklaşıyoruz ve ne yazık ki sonunda hep bir şeyler eksik kalıyor bu tuhaf yolculukta.
●
here we're on a strange journey where science and madness begin to blur into one another. yet with humboldt we truly set out on the road—we grow tired, we become curious, we fall ill, and still we refuse to give up. somehow his journey feels more vivid, more physical to me. gauss, on the other hand, is entirely different; it is as if there is an invisible pane of glass between him and us. he looks at us (or perhaps we look at him) and we see one another, yet we never quite touch.
when you think about it, people live as if they're choosing everything for themselves, yet we aren't really that free. we make plans, we love, we lose and eventually we grow old. and yet, behind all of this, there seems to be a kind of order at work, almost a hidden mathematics. we believe we're walking along open, uncomplicated roads, while in truth we're already moving along a line that was drawn long ago. humboldt resists this idea in a way, because for him reason shapes the world. and yet i find myself closer to gauss here. reason doesn't explain everything; sometimes it only makes things even stranger. like the idea of space bending and curving—stretch a straight line out to infinity and somehow you may still return to where you began. perhaps that is why the more we try to measure, name and correct things, the further away we move from understanding them and in the end something always remains missing in this strange journey.
düşününce insan her şeyi kendi seçiyormuş gibi yaşıyor, oysa o kadar da özgür değiliz. planlar yapıyoruz, seviyoruz, kaybediyoruz ve en sonunda yaşlanıyoruz. gelgelelim, bunların arka planında işleyen bir düzen, bir matematik var sanki. dümdüz, ferah yollardan yürüdüğümüzü sanarken aslında çoktan çizilmiş bir çizginin üzerinde ilerliyoruz. humboldt ise buna karşı çıkıyor bir yerde. çünkü ona göre akıl dünyayı biçimlendirir. ne var ki burada gauss’a daha yakınım. çünkü akıl her şeyi açıklamaz, hatta çoğu şeyi daha da tuhaf bir hâle getirir. uzayın eğilip bükülmesi fikri gibi, bir doğruyu sonsuza kadar uzatsan bile bir noktada başladığın yere döneceksindir. belki de bunun için ölçmeye, adlandırmaya, düzeltmeye çalıştıkça daha da uzaklaşıyoruz ve ne yazık ki sonunda hep bir şeyler eksik kalıyor bu tuhaf yolculukta.
●
here we're on a strange journey where science and madness begin to blur into one another. yet with humboldt we truly set out on the road—we grow tired, we become curious, we fall ill, and still we refuse to give up. somehow his journey feels more vivid, more physical to me. gauss, on the other hand, is entirely different; it is as if there is an invisible pane of glass between him and us. he looks at us (or perhaps we look at him) and we see one another, yet we never quite touch.
when you think about it, people live as if they're choosing everything for themselves, yet we aren't really that free. we make plans, we love, we lose and eventually we grow old. and yet, behind all of this, there seems to be a kind of order at work, almost a hidden mathematics. we believe we're walking along open, uncomplicated roads, while in truth we're already moving along a line that was drawn long ago. humboldt resists this idea in a way, because for him reason shapes the world. and yet i find myself closer to gauss here. reason doesn't explain everything; sometimes it only makes things even stranger. like the idea of space bending and curving—stretch a straight line out to infinity and somehow you may still return to where you began. perhaps that is why the more we try to measure, name and correct things, the further away we move from understanding them and in the end something always remains missing in this strange journey.
August 13, 2020
U osnovi fizike su pravila, u osnovi pravila zakoni, a na osnovi zakona su brojevi.
Premjeravanje svijeta je jedan ambiciozan roman. Većina ljudi koji su se susreli s Gausom znali su ga samo kroz sistem formalnog obrazovanja, osim ako se nisu van njega interesovali za takve stvari. Gaus je tada važio za nevidljivog imperatora, kao neko ko nepotrebno nanosi štetu, vjerovatno većini. Obično se u takvom obrazovanju on spominje kao neki čikica koji je stvoritelj metode eliminisanja nepoznatih u sistemu linearnih jednačina. A kada ljudi ne mogu da dopru do njegove spoznaje i ono što je on radio, gledaju ga sa nekim strahopoštovanjem, suviše postaje apstraktan. Jer tako je on u tom obrazovanju predstavljen. Jako, jako loše. Skoro pa depresivno.
Naime, u ovom romanu Kelman će prići dvojici naučnika s jednom dječijom radošću i ozbiljnošću kakvo ono ima dok se igra u pjesku. Karl Fridrih Gaus, matematičar i Aleksandar fon Humbolt, geodeta i geograf su sasvim obični ljudi, svako sa svojim namjerama i idejama. Oni će često govoriti o budućem vremenu, i kako će mnogi eksperimenti nekada kasnije uspjeti, ali prije toga moraće poći na razna putovanja ne bi li tako nešto uočili. Njhovo putovanje će se ogledati kroz Južnu Ameriku, Rusiju i druge dijelove Evrope, odakle će mnoge misli da naviru. Iako ovo nije knjiga iz koje se može štošta naučno izvući, ona ipak pomalo kojegdje sagledava jezgro Zemlje, vulkane kao zemljini prirodni ventili i morske i vazdušne struje i opstanak biljaka uprkos njihovoj potpunoj izloženosti i nezaštićenosti. Njih dvojica takođe imaju svoje životne probleme. I to je ono što ovu knjigu čini radoznalom i punom. Ona čitaocima približava dvojicu naučnika kao neke momke koje svaki dan možemo susresti i sa njima proćaskati, bez neprijatnosti. Mnoge prepreke kroz koje Gaus i Humbolt prolaze daju romanu na čitljivosti i zanimljivosti, posebno kada Kelman još malo sve to začini humorom.
March 2, 2022
I don't read a lot of fiction, but this is fictionalised - and appears to contain a lot of fact related to the travel and the science (and mathematics) of the two central characters - Alexander von Humboldt & Carl Friedrich Gauss. Both German, and contemporary, it is not clear to me if they ever met or were colleagues / friends, as they are in this book.
Both fascinating men, but very different in their approach to their fields. Humboldt embodies inductive science - based on observation and experience - he is the explorer - the climber, the measurer, the scientist taking samples - plants, animals, rocks. Gauss is pure deductive science an academic, at his desk performing calculations, producing formulae, viewing the stars in his telescope.
Similarly both geniuses, but very much presented here as quite human - flaws well captured in the flow of the novel. The larger crossover with Humboldt and Gauss is surveying - measuring the world. They both develop technique and carry out a significant amount of surveying and cartography.
The third character in the novel is Aimé Bonpland, who travels with Humboldt, and provides a lot of the wit in Humboldt's chapters.
The other constant character is Gauss' son Eugen. Despite being the son of a genius, Eugen is of average intellect. Eugen is a disappointment to Gauss, and shares none of the interests of his father.
This was an enjoyable novel - funny in many parts, well paced, and interesting. The first half was much stronger, and from the midpoint onwards I found myself considering how it would be resolved, or in fact what the storyline here was to resolve. I suspect the storyline is somewhat light, and we are looking at a comparison between the two characters, and their approach to their work, and their lives, rather than pure plot.
In a few other reviews I read, those who read it in its original German and in English have said the humour and tone didn't always translate successfully. I found it pretty amusing, so I was pretty surprised by that.
Difficult to rate, as I haven't the intimate knowledge to know how much liberty the author took with the fictionalisation. I enjoyed it enough to be between three and four stars. Rounded up.
Both fascinating men, but very different in their approach to their fields. Humboldt embodies inductive science - based on observation and experience - he is the explorer - the climber, the measurer, the scientist taking samples - plants, animals, rocks. Gauss is pure deductive science an academic, at his desk performing calculations, producing formulae, viewing the stars in his telescope.
Similarly both geniuses, but very much presented here as quite human - flaws well captured in the flow of the novel. The larger crossover with Humboldt and Gauss is surveying - measuring the world. They both develop technique and carry out a significant amount of surveying and cartography.
The third character in the novel is Aimé Bonpland, who travels with Humboldt, and provides a lot of the wit in Humboldt's chapters.
The other constant character is Gauss' son Eugen. Despite being the son of a genius, Eugen is of average intellect. Eugen is a disappointment to Gauss, and shares none of the interests of his father.
This was an enjoyable novel - funny in many parts, well paced, and interesting. The first half was much stronger, and from the midpoint onwards I found myself considering how it would be resolved, or in fact what the storyline here was to resolve. I suspect the storyline is somewhat light, and we are looking at a comparison between the two characters, and their approach to their work, and their lives, rather than pure plot.
In a few other reviews I read, those who read it in its original German and in English have said the humour and tone didn't always translate successfully. I found it pretty amusing, so I was pretty surprised by that.
Difficult to rate, as I haven't the intimate knowledge to know how much liberty the author took with the fictionalisation. I enjoyed it enough to be between three and four stars. Rounded up.
July 6, 2017
"It was both odd and injust, said Gauss, a real example of the pitiful arbitrariness of existence, that you were born into a particular time and held prisoner there whether you wanted it or not. It gave you an indecent advantage over the past and made you a clown vis-a-vis the future."
I'm not sure what to make of this one: I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. It certainly was not what I expected.
I do admire Kehlmann for trying a different angle on a historical novel about two eminent characters in their own time. The novel style and focus on what basically is a sequence of vignettes work well to bring out the character in Kehlmann's two subjects - Humboldt and Gauss.
However, this is at the expense of any historical facts (other than that the two people existed):
There is one (or maybe two) references to dates in this book, and I felt this was only to give the reader a timeframe to anchor the story in.
Other than this, there are very few facts in this story that could be referenced back to anything. Yet, this is not due to a lack of research on the part of the author. To draw a picture of both characters in as much detail as he does would have required a lot of research. The book just does not bring this across which makes this more a novel that featured two characters with the names of actual people and some enterprises these people may have set out to, but little else makes this book feel like a historical novel.
And this is where my problem is again: If I want to read about actual people, I want facts, I want references, I want to be able to go away and read more about something they did.
I do not want speculation about what they have thought or felt, or whether their brother tried to kill them when they were little. Unless I can go away and find other supporting material about any of this, I am simply not interested.
The upside to the book was that there was no love triangle, which so often spoils historical fiction books.
2.5*
I'm not sure what to make of this one: I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. It certainly was not what I expected.
I do admire Kehlmann for trying a different angle on a historical novel about two eminent characters in their own time. The novel style and focus on what basically is a sequence of vignettes work well to bring out the character in Kehlmann's two subjects - Humboldt and Gauss.
However, this is at the expense of any historical facts (other than that the two people existed):
There is one (or maybe two) references to dates in this book, and I felt this was only to give the reader a timeframe to anchor the story in.
Other than this, there are very few facts in this story that could be referenced back to anything. Yet, this is not due to a lack of research on the part of the author. To draw a picture of both characters in as much detail as he does would have required a lot of research. The book just does not bring this across which makes this more a novel that featured two characters with the names of actual people and some enterprises these people may have set out to, but little else makes this book feel like a historical novel.
And this is where my problem is again: If I want to read about actual people, I want facts, I want references, I want to be able to go away and read more about something they did.
I do not want speculation about what they have thought or felt, or whether their brother tried to kill them when they were little. Unless I can go away and find other supporting material about any of this, I am simply not interested.
The upside to the book was that there was no love triangle, which so often spoils historical fiction books.
2.5*
July 1, 2026
Ein entzückender Roman, in dem wilde Abenteuer und stille Kontemplation um die Vorherrschaft ringen, in dem ein heroischer Versuch unternommen wird, Chaos und Ungewissheit mit Messergebnissen zu belegen, in dem Größenwahn die Verzweiflung zu übertönen sucht und in dem Ehrgeiz und Selbstvertrauen mit der Zeit immer mehr schwinden. Das Buch wird als Komödie vermarktet, ist aber trotz des Humors im Kern eine Tragödie. Kurz gesagt: Es ist hervorragend geschrieben.
September 14, 2021
Die ersten 3/4 der Buches sind wirklich humorvoll und unterhaltsam geschrieben. Das letzte viertel fand ich aber außerordentlich zäh und langweilig.
Ich habe mir mehr davon versprochen gehabt...
Ich habe mir mehr davon versprochen gehabt...
December 11, 2019
Aslında tam olarak 3,864 yıldız :)
Jean Echenoz'unkine benzettiğim uçuşmalı üslubu, güçlü kara mizah duygusu ve derinlikli özüyle nefis bir roman bu.
Jean Echenoz'unkine benzettiğim uçuşmalı üslubu, güçlü kara mizah duygusu ve derinlikli özüyle nefis bir roman bu.
July 24, 2022
Diese Form der Doppelbiografie zweier herausragender deutscher Wissenschaftler hat mich hervorragend unterhalten. Daniel Kehlmann ist ein großartiger und vor allem humorvoller Erzähler. Die Lebenswege des Mathematikers Gauß und des Naturwissenschaftlers Humboldt sind von Beginn an sehr unterschiedlich. Durch das ständige Springen zwischen der Erzählsträngen lassen sich die Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede der Beiden gut erkennen. Auf den ersten Blick sieht man nicht viel Übereinstimmung, aber letztlich ist doch beiden gemeinsam, dass sie sich als Wissenschaftler gänzlich auf die Fakten konzentrieren. Und Kehlmann übernimmt diese Einstellung, in dem er das Reflektieren und geistige Erschließen reduziert und einen unerwartet stark handlungsorientierten Roman schreibt. Dadurch wirkt die Vermessung der Welt durch die Beiden spannend und amüsant zu gleich. Eines meiner liebsten zeitgenössischen deutschsprachigen Bücher. Die Romanverfilmung von 2012 versucht den humorvollen Ton Kehlmanns umzusetzen und scheitert dabei meines Erachtens kläglich, da Buck die Personen ins Alberne und Überdrehte karikiert.
December 5, 2017
Don't like this book. The characters of the historical figures of Gauss and Von Humboldt are flat, like in a graphic novel. As a result it is even difficult to keep the two apart. I do not see the sense of using real people in a novel if you do not try to develop their psychology, not try to understand their motives, doubts, struggles. In this novel it remains superficial. There is some humor, yes, but again, what is this book meant to be? A satire? Of what? As a historical novel I cannot take it seriously.
March 3, 2026
Fictional account of the lives and meeting (towards the end of their lives at a scientific congress that Humboldt holds) of two great German scientists – the naturalist and geographer Alexander von Humboldt (whose brother was also a great politician and linguist) – who explored and opened up and the mathematician and physicist Gauss. The translated English is written in a simple and slightly stilting style but is easy to read and the range of ideas and concepts covered is what makes the book.
As the title suggests both are obsessed with measurement – but whereas Humboldt travels far and wide and seems to believe that the world is better understood by discovery, measurement, reporting and charting; Gauss in contrast resents the time he has to spend as a surveyor (although approaching the task with drive and mathematical rigour) and is more interested in the insights it gives him into mathematical reality – e.g. the concept that parallel lines meet in infinity and that space and time are curved.
The book is also set against the background of brewing political rebellion in Germany in the mid-1800’s with both scientists not just revolutionary thinkers in their scientific thinking but both also magnificently unaware of what is going on around them – from mundane concerns to wider geo-political events such as the Napoleonic wars. Humboldt’s travels to the Americas allows Kehlmann to integrate high science and German culture with magic realism – with Humboldt still persistently seeking to explain, assess and categorise even in bizarre and surreal surroundings.
As the title suggests both are obsessed with measurement – but whereas Humboldt travels far and wide and seems to believe that the world is better understood by discovery, measurement, reporting and charting; Gauss in contrast resents the time he has to spend as a surveyor (although approaching the task with drive and mathematical rigour) and is more interested in the insights it gives him into mathematical reality – e.g. the concept that parallel lines meet in infinity and that space and time are curved.
The book is also set against the background of brewing political rebellion in Germany in the mid-1800’s with both scientists not just revolutionary thinkers in their scientific thinking but both also magnificently unaware of what is going on around them – from mundane concerns to wider geo-political events such as the Napoleonic wars. Humboldt’s travels to the Americas allows Kehlmann to integrate high science and German culture with magic realism – with Humboldt still persistently seeking to explain, assess and categorise even in bizarre and surreal surroundings.
May 30, 2019
در یک کلام یک کتاب تفریحی که به نظر تعهدی را نسبت به دونابغهی آلمانی- کارل فردریش گاوس و الکساندر فوت هومبلت- به جا آورده.
نویسنده، خاطرات جسته گریختهی این دو دانشمند را در قالب داستانی با تمپوی بالا و جذاب روایت(بازسازی) کرده.
گاوس یک ریاضیدان و هومبلت کاشف سرزمینهای نو و جغرافی دان ، هر یک سرگذشت جذاب خودشان را دارند و در جایی از زندگی با هم ملاقات میکنند.
از نکات مثبتش همین که دونفر از مفاخر کشورشون روتونسته بود معرفی کنه. از طرفی هم سعی در بت سازی و تقدس گرایی مفاخر نداشت. تا جایی که شخصیت گاوس رو خیلی از مواقع از نظر اخلاقی تخریب هم میکنه.
دوستش داشتم ولی برای اینکه بتونه امتیازی بیشتر از ۳ بگیره نیاز به درگیریهای عمیقتری داشت.
حاشیه:
بنده در دوران تحصیل بسیار فراوان این جناب گاوس رو نفرین و دشنام داده بودم. به خاطر قوانین، فرمولها و روشهای حلی که به نام خودش ثبت کرده، و ما رو به زحمت انداخته بود.
نویسنده، خاطرات جسته گریختهی این دو دانشمند را در قالب داستانی با تمپوی بالا و جذاب روایت(بازسازی) کرده.
گاوس یک ریاضیدان و هومبلت کاشف سرزمینهای نو و جغرافی دان ، هر یک سرگذشت جذاب خودشان را دارند و در جایی از زندگی با هم ملاقات میکنند.
از نکات مثبتش همین که دونفر از مفاخر کشورشون روتونسته بود معرفی کنه. از طرفی هم سعی در بت سازی و تقدس گرایی مفاخر نداشت. تا جایی که شخصیت گاوس رو خیلی از مواقع از نظر اخلاقی تخریب هم میکنه.
دوستش داشتم ولی برای اینکه بتونه امتیازی بیشتر از ۳ بگیره نیاز به درگیریهای عمیقتری داشت.
حاشیه:
بنده در دوران تحصیل بسیار فراوان این جناب گاوس رو نفرین و دشنام داده بودم. به خاطر قوانین، فرمولها و روشهای حلی که به نام خودش ثبت کرده، و ما رو به زحمت انداخته بود.
June 11, 2023
Mi se pare nepotrivita, extrem de subiectiva si plictisitoare abordarea scriitorului. Nu mi-a placut stilul narativ, atatea gesturi si dialoguri inchipuite...nu asa se contureaza personalitatea unor oameni mari precum Gauss si Humboldt, as fi vrut sa iasa in evidenta maretia descoperirilor lor, preferam o biografie neromanțata sau in stilul lui Stefan Zweig, care a stiut sa surprinda caracterul uman cu un profund simt analitic.
May 13, 2018
I just wanted to take a short break from two extremely serious and depressing books I'm reading at the moment and thought that plunging into the worlds of two geniuses would be perfect. Re-reading this novel is as fascinating as it was while reading it for the first time.
April 15, 2026
Not entirely sure why, but this novel felt a bit bloodless to me. Featuring the lives of Prussian subjects Gauss and Humboldt, it focusses on the period Europeans felt they were discovering the world, both physically and mathematically, asking questions which quest is more real
One wanted to know because one wanted to know.
Starting of with mathematician Gauss visiting Berlin on behest of an ageing Alexander von Humboldt, Measuring the World zooms in on two titans of German science, who both in their own way contributed to the identity forming of this newly united nation.
Gauss brilliant at 8, reading advanced mathematics and learning reading nearly immediately, was in this story more interesting than Humbold, who traversed the world. Maybe because I already knew quite a bit about him due to the excellent The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf.
There are interesting contrasts between the two: Gauss a surveyor in Germany out of necessity and Humboldt doing the same, escaping his strict upbringing and the shadow of an older brother who was big in statecraft and founded the famous Humboldt university, in South America.
Both men are socially awkward and feel like manifestations of the idea of the troubled, solitary scientist who walk their own paths. Regardless, they struggle with their own early feats of brilliance and end up in a limbo while society speeds on. Gauss his visions of the future and wanting to be born 100 years later feel interesting, certainly in how we now elevate STEM above all other sciences, while Humboldt his more empirical approach is rather out of fashion in a sense. Both men feel they hit limits of what is to be explored, however glimpses of quantum mechanics are on the horizon and feel called already by musings like: Nothing someone had measured ever could be the same as before.
An interesting book about a time Europe was in constant uproar (avoided mostly by the men being upperclass and wealthy, aloof of politics and sheltered in Gauss his case by multiple caring women and in Humboldt his case his eccentricities being part of his accepted persona, even masking his potential homosexuality). Still I feel Benjamín Labatut does these kind of narratives about scientific breakthroughs, individual lives and what this means for the world/a nation better.
One wanted to know because one wanted to know.
Starting of with mathematician Gauss visiting Berlin on behest of an ageing Alexander von Humboldt, Measuring the World zooms in on two titans of German science, who both in their own way contributed to the identity forming of this newly united nation.
Gauss brilliant at 8, reading advanced mathematics and learning reading nearly immediately, was in this story more interesting than Humbold, who traversed the world. Maybe because I already knew quite a bit about him due to the excellent The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf.
There are interesting contrasts between the two: Gauss a surveyor in Germany out of necessity and Humboldt doing the same, escaping his strict upbringing and the shadow of an older brother who was big in statecraft and founded the famous Humboldt university, in South America.
Both men are socially awkward and feel like manifestations of the idea of the troubled, solitary scientist who walk their own paths. Regardless, they struggle with their own early feats of brilliance and end up in a limbo while society speeds on. Gauss his visions of the future and wanting to be born 100 years later feel interesting, certainly in how we now elevate STEM above all other sciences, while Humboldt his more empirical approach is rather out of fashion in a sense. Both men feel they hit limits of what is to be explored, however glimpses of quantum mechanics are on the horizon and feel called already by musings like: Nothing someone had measured ever could be the same as before.
An interesting book about a time Europe was in constant uproar (avoided mostly by the men being upperclass and wealthy, aloof of politics and sheltered in Gauss his case by multiple caring women and in Humboldt his case his eccentricities being part of his accepted persona, even masking his potential homosexuality). Still I feel Benjamín Labatut does these kind of narratives about scientific breakthroughs, individual lives and what this means for the world/a nation better.
Read
July 29, 2026Ik heb de roman Het meten van de wereld gelezen. Het boek vertelt het verhaal van twee genieën uit de 18de - 19de eeuw: wiskundige Carl Friedrich Gauss (van de gausscurve) en ontdekkingsreiziger Alexander von Humboldt.
De twee ontmoeten elkaar op latere leeftijd als beroemde wetenschappers. Daniel Kehlmann vertelt hun levensverhaal en beschrijft hoe verschillend ze zijn. Gauss heeft een hekel aan reizen, von Humboldt reist een enorm stuk van de wereld af, hij doet ondermeer expedities in Midden- en Zuid-Amerika. Toch hebben ze een gelijkaardig doel: het opmeten van de wereld. Gauss doet dat vooral op basis van wiskundige berekeningen, von Humboldt door bergen en zeeën en bossen op te meten, door planten en diersoorten te verzamelen en volkeren te leren kennen. Op die manier schildert Daniel Kehlmann de mannen elk vanuit een soort tegengestelde basisgedachte: Gauss vertrekt voor zijn beschrijving van de werkelijkheid voornamelijk vanuit zijn hoofd, von Humboldt vooral vanuit zijn concrete ervaringen. Op het einde komen ze samen, letterlijk en figuurlijk.
Daniel Kehlmann mengt in dit boek waarheid en fictie. In zijn beschrijving van Gauss en von Humboldt verwijst hij voortdurend naar een toekomst die zij nog niet, en wij wél kennen, met fors geborstelde tegenstellingen tussen beide mannen, en vol humor. Zoals in deze passage waarin Gauss de filosoof Immanuel Kant opzoekt:
"Gauss volgde hem aarzelend door een korte en donkere gang naar een klein kamertje. Hij had even tijd nodig voordat zijn ogen aan het halfdonker gewend waren en hij een bedekt raam, een tafel, een fauteuil en daarin een in een wollen deken gewikkelde, roerloze dwerg kon zien: dikke lippen, vooruitstekend voorhoofd, een scherpe, dunne neus. De halfgeopende ogen waren niet op hem gericht. De lucht was zo bedompt dat je nauwelijks kon ademhalen. Met schorre stem vroeg hij of dat de professor was.
Wie anders, zei de bediende." (p. 88, 89)
De twee ontmoeten elkaar op latere leeftijd als beroemde wetenschappers. Daniel Kehlmann vertelt hun levensverhaal en beschrijft hoe verschillend ze zijn. Gauss heeft een hekel aan reizen, von Humboldt reist een enorm stuk van de wereld af, hij doet ondermeer expedities in Midden- en Zuid-Amerika. Toch hebben ze een gelijkaardig doel: het opmeten van de wereld. Gauss doet dat vooral op basis van wiskundige berekeningen, von Humboldt door bergen en zeeën en bossen op te meten, door planten en diersoorten te verzamelen en volkeren te leren kennen. Op die manier schildert Daniel Kehlmann de mannen elk vanuit een soort tegengestelde basisgedachte: Gauss vertrekt voor zijn beschrijving van de werkelijkheid voornamelijk vanuit zijn hoofd, von Humboldt vooral vanuit zijn concrete ervaringen. Op het einde komen ze samen, letterlijk en figuurlijk.
Daniel Kehlmann mengt in dit boek waarheid en fictie. In zijn beschrijving van Gauss en von Humboldt verwijst hij voortdurend naar een toekomst die zij nog niet, en wij wél kennen, met fors geborstelde tegenstellingen tussen beide mannen, en vol humor. Zoals in deze passage waarin Gauss de filosoof Immanuel Kant opzoekt:
"Gauss volgde hem aarzelend door een korte en donkere gang naar een klein kamertje. Hij had even tijd nodig voordat zijn ogen aan het halfdonker gewend waren en hij een bedekt raam, een tafel, een fauteuil en daarin een in een wollen deken gewikkelde, roerloze dwerg kon zien: dikke lippen, vooruitstekend voorhoofd, een scherpe, dunne neus. De halfgeopende ogen waren niet op hem gericht. De lucht was zo bedompt dat je nauwelijks kon ademhalen. Met schorre stem vroeg hij of dat de professor was.
Wie anders, zei de bediende." (p. 88, 89)
January 20, 2018
Non basta un’idea
Bella pensata ha fatto il filosofo Daniel Kehlmann decidendo di scrivere un doppio romanzo sulla vita di due eminenti scienziati tedeschi vissuti a cavallo del diciottesimo e diciannovesimo secolo! Sì, perché l’idea di raccontare due personalità antitetiche, e quindi complementari, sia dal punto di vista caratteriale che storico, è proprio accattivante.
Da un lato von Humboldt, geografo, naturalista ed esploratore, ricco aristocratico, eccentrico, curioso ed espansivo. Uno che è stato dappertutto e che il mondo lo ha misurato concretamente. Dall’altro Gauss, un genio della matematica e dell’astronomia, di umili origini, cupo e schivo. Uno che detesta l’idea di mettersi in viaggio anche solo per brevi distanze e che il mondo (e di più, visto che si è dedicato anche a studi riguardanti lo spazio) lo ha misurato standosene a casa sua.
Ma soprattutto due personalità con modi antitetici di intendere la scienza: v.H. è uno scienziato vecchio stile, un empirista che deve toccare tutto con mano per convalidare qualunque teoria; uno che ha passato la vita a raccogliere dati e a catalogarli. G. invece Rappresenta una concezione più moderna, ha una visione della scienza basata sull’astrazione e sul calcolo. Il suo è un mondo complesso, fatto di difficoltà, un mondo che nasconde enigmi e misteri, al di là dell’esperibile e finanche dell’immaginabile. Un mondo che, come afferma egli stesso addentrandosi in campo filosofico, una volta misurato non è più lo stesso, si è modificato.
Il libro però, basato su dati biografici e aneddotici ampiamente romanzati, non è all’altezza delle premesse. La scrittura è piatta, noiosa, ripetitiva e, nell’intento di giocare sugli aspetti comici dei due eccentrici personaggi, Kehlmann finisce col banalizzare i due protagonisti e renderli delle macchiette. Si arriva a un certo punto della lettura a domandarsi se fossero davvero così interessanti v.H e G. da scriverci un romanzo. Forse più semplicemente si può affermare che l’autore sia solo uno scrittore mediocre con velleità di umorista da cabaret. Un libro quindi non pessimo, ma trascurabile.
Bella pensata ha fatto il filosofo Daniel Kehlmann decidendo di scrivere un doppio romanzo sulla vita di due eminenti scienziati tedeschi vissuti a cavallo del diciottesimo e diciannovesimo secolo! Sì, perché l’idea di raccontare due personalità antitetiche, e quindi complementari, sia dal punto di vista caratteriale che storico, è proprio accattivante.
Da un lato von Humboldt, geografo, naturalista ed esploratore, ricco aristocratico, eccentrico, curioso ed espansivo. Uno che è stato dappertutto e che il mondo lo ha misurato concretamente. Dall’altro Gauss, un genio della matematica e dell’astronomia, di umili origini, cupo e schivo. Uno che detesta l’idea di mettersi in viaggio anche solo per brevi distanze e che il mondo (e di più, visto che si è dedicato anche a studi riguardanti lo spazio) lo ha misurato standosene a casa sua.
Ma soprattutto due personalità con modi antitetici di intendere la scienza: v.H. è uno scienziato vecchio stile, un empirista che deve toccare tutto con mano per convalidare qualunque teoria; uno che ha passato la vita a raccogliere dati e a catalogarli. G. invece Rappresenta una concezione più moderna, ha una visione della scienza basata sull’astrazione e sul calcolo. Il suo è un mondo complesso, fatto di difficoltà, un mondo che nasconde enigmi e misteri, al di là dell’esperibile e finanche dell’immaginabile. Un mondo che, come afferma egli stesso addentrandosi in campo filosofico, una volta misurato non è più lo stesso, si è modificato.
Il libro però, basato su dati biografici e aneddotici ampiamente romanzati, non è all’altezza delle premesse. La scrittura è piatta, noiosa, ripetitiva e, nell’intento di giocare sugli aspetti comici dei due eccentrici personaggi, Kehlmann finisce col banalizzare i due protagonisti e renderli delle macchiette. Si arriva a un certo punto della lettura a domandarsi se fossero davvero così interessanti v.H e G. da scriverci un romanzo. Forse più semplicemente si può affermare che l’autore sia solo uno scrittore mediocre con velleità di umorista da cabaret. Un libro quindi non pessimo, ma trascurabile.
July 29, 2016
اینقد درهم برهم بود که یه جاهایی داستان از زیر دستم در میرفت! ولی طنزش تو بعضی جمله ها و جریانات خیلی خوش نشسته بود. ریتم خوبش باعث میشد بتونی باهاش همراهی کنی. شخصیت ها ولی، نمدونم چرا جز یه سری چیزهای برجسته، نتونستن تو ذهنم بمونن.
" هر چیز مربوط به بدن، منبع واقعی تمام نکبت هاست."
" هر چیز مربوط به بدن، منبع واقعی تمام نکبت هاست."
February 1, 2008
Daniel Kehlmann's Measuring the World was one of my birthday presents last year, and I waited almost a year to finally read it. Even though it had been on my wishlist, when it suddenly sat there on my shelf, the idea of reading about pre-industrialization Germany, about Humboldt and Gauß, two boring old scientist, seemed rather dreadful.
I should have known better. Measuring the World is not a science book. It's not about two boring old men either, though it is about two old scientist. And the way Kehlmann describes them, you feel as if you had known them forever from the first moment. Humboldt's enthusiam, his absolute NEED to measure things, to experience, not to miss anything no matter at what cost, is as palpable as Gauß's displeasure at traveling, a cranky old geezer is, I think, what one would call him (or "ein griesgrämiger alter Kauz"). Kehlmann makes both of them exceptionally human, with all the flaws, and at the same time manages to describe their genius without forcing it on the reader. Their stories become cleverly interwoven and mixed up with Kehlmann's excellent dialogues.
The book captivated me and made me laugh out loud more than once. Historical or scientific value or accuracy may have been sacrificed for entertainment in many cases, but that seems only fitting in the time we live. ;-)
P.S.: I read the original German version, so I don't know if the English translation is any good. I'd be interested in opinions.
I should have known better. Measuring the World is not a science book. It's not about two boring old men either, though it is about two old scientist. And the way Kehlmann describes them, you feel as if you had known them forever from the first moment. Humboldt's enthusiam, his absolute NEED to measure things, to experience, not to miss anything no matter at what cost, is as palpable as Gauß's displeasure at traveling, a cranky old geezer is, I think, what one would call him (or "ein griesgrämiger alter Kauz"). Kehlmann makes both of them exceptionally human, with all the flaws, and at the same time manages to describe their genius without forcing it on the reader. Their stories become cleverly interwoven and mixed up with Kehlmann's excellent dialogues.
The book captivated me and made me laugh out loud more than once. Historical or scientific value or accuracy may have been sacrificed for entertainment in many cases, but that seems only fitting in the time we live. ;-)
P.S.: I read the original German version, so I don't know if the English translation is any good. I'd be interested in opinions.
January 18, 2013
Prima di leggere il libro, conoscevo di nome Gauss, mentre quello di Humboldt potrebbe essere apparso nei miei studi scolastici ma subito è stato dimenticato. Quindi la lettura è stata utile principalmente per conoscere questi due scienziati, di cui vengono narrate le avventure in capitoli alterni: ambedue tedeschi, di origini diversissime -popolare il primo, figlio di un giardiniere; di famiglia nobile il secondo- hanno vissuto vite del tutto diverse, l’uno, “enfant prodige” della matematica, scrisse giovanissimo la sua opera più famosa, le Disquisitiones Arithmeticae, e trascorse la sua esistenza sopra i libri dedito ai calcoli numerici e alle misurazioni dei movimenti dei pianeti; l’altro, invece, ha viaggiato per il mondo, immerso nelle esplorazioni di terre sconosciute, nelle misurazioni delle altezze di colline e montagne e nello studio di minerali e animali. Alla fine i due scienziati si incontrano, e dall’incontro emerge che, pur se un abisso li separa, li accomuna lo spirito scientifico, inteso come il desiderio di dare a sé stessi e all’umanità una spiegazione dell’universo e delle leggi che lo regolano, di misurare il mondo per renderlo “a misura” dell’uomo.
Le loro avventure, spesso stravaganti e singolari, vengono narrate da Daniel Kehlmann con senso dell’umorismo ed una fine ironia, e questa è stata l’impronta principale della lettura: far conoscere divertendo il lettore. Un romanzo intelligente, pieno di humour ma che al contempo fa riflettere.
Le loro avventure, spesso stravaganti e singolari, vengono narrate da Daniel Kehlmann con senso dell’umorismo ed una fine ironia, e questa è stata l’impronta principale della lettura: far conoscere divertendo il lettore. Un romanzo intelligente, pieno di humour ma che al contempo fa riflettere.
June 12, 2021
Kehlmann’s talents as a novelist present themselves from time to time, but the occasional moment of dry humor was not enough to supplant a somewhat tedious story. Gauss and Humboldt are depicted as too clever by half, and while Gauss’s insults directed at the simpletons he must endure are entertaining, the two main characters become a little tiresome by the end of the novel. I did enjoy the final chapters when Gauss and Humboldt confront mortality and complete each other’s thoughts about legacy (there is a touch of magical realism here). These are the chapters in which Kehlmann’s writing really shines. Having already read ‘Tyll’, however, this novel struck me as a work of a talented writer who has not yet found his stride. Pretty good, but I was expecting a little more from Kehlmann. Three stars. Highly recommend Kehlmann’s ‘Tyll’ though.
September 13, 2020
Nachdem ich vor einem Jahr "Alexander von Humboldt und die Entdeckung der Natur" von Andrea Wulf gelesen habe, war das eine gute Ergänzung, die Humboldt auch von anderen Perspektiven betrachtet hat. Wieviele davon fiktiv ist, kann ich nicht beurteilen.
Interessant fand ich auch die Gegensätze zwischen Gauß und Humboldt. Der eine entdeckt die Welt aus seinem "Wohnzimmer" und der andere bereist sie und beide vermessen sie, jeder auf seine Art.
Von Daniel Kehlmann habe ich bereits Tyll gelesen, das mir auch sehr gut gefallen hat und 5 Sterne bekommen hat. Mir mag die Art von Humor von Daniel Kehlmann. Das wird sicherlich nicht das letzte Buch sein, das ich von ihm lese.
Interessant fand ich auch die Gegensätze zwischen Gauß und Humboldt. Der eine entdeckt die Welt aus seinem "Wohnzimmer" und der andere bereist sie und beide vermessen sie, jeder auf seine Art.
Von Daniel Kehlmann habe ich bereits Tyll gelesen, das mir auch sehr gut gefallen hat und 5 Sterne bekommen hat. Mir mag die Art von Humor von Daniel Kehlmann. Das wird sicherlich nicht das letzte Buch sein, das ich von ihm lese.
December 15, 2011
So 200 years ago the world was a pretty big place. Not any bigger than it is now but it had the feel of a larger ball of rock as many humans were still scrambling about "discovering" places. Note - most of these places had already been discovered by the people who lived in them. They just didn't shout about it in quite the same way. It is also interesting to note that the people doing the scrambling about were, for the most part, European. Is this because all Europe-ers are massive nosy bastards? Or maybe everyone else is happy where they are, mainly because fate/god/evolution saw to it that they got a warmer and more exotic spot on the big ball of rock. Another hypothesis might be that some parts of Europe were actually quite late off the mark with regards to general international nosiness. Empires from China, Persia, Greece, Italy and the Middle East had already got a lot of wandering out of their system prior to the time many Europeans were just stretching their legs and wondering exactly what was over the next hill.
The "nosey Europe-ers" in question in this book are Gauss and Humboldt, both of whom were real gentlemen who did lots of simultaneous wandering and pondering. At this point, I suppose it would be good to present people with some hard facts that I may have learned (or Googled) about Gauss or Humboldt but I don't have any so I am unable to pass comment on how much artistic license Kehlmann took with the main characters. Essentially they are both stupendously clever but Gauss is cleverer than Humboldt what with being your more bog-standard genius and all. Humboldt is pretty smart, incredibly observant and probably an early example of someone with undiagnosed low latent inhibition (if you watched Prison Break then you'll know what I mean). Humboldts determination to be a genius actually almost puts him on level pegging with Gauss who is a bit lazier and less inclined to travel outside of Prussia.
Is there a moral to this slightly comedic tale of exploration by two men, both with issues? Not really. Doesn't make it a bad read though, just means you'll walk away thinking "ok well that was quite nice" rather than "wow I am a better and more well rounded sentient entity for reading that".
The "nosey Europe-ers" in question in this book are Gauss and Humboldt, both of whom were real gentlemen who did lots of simultaneous wandering and pondering. At this point, I suppose it would be good to present people with some hard facts that I may have learned (or Googled) about Gauss or Humboldt but I don't have any so I am unable to pass comment on how much artistic license Kehlmann took with the main characters. Essentially they are both stupendously clever but Gauss is cleverer than Humboldt what with being your more bog-standard genius and all. Humboldt is pretty smart, incredibly observant and probably an early example of someone with undiagnosed low latent inhibition (if you watched Prison Break then you'll know what I mean). Humboldts determination to be a genius actually almost puts him on level pegging with Gauss who is a bit lazier and less inclined to travel outside of Prussia.
Is there a moral to this slightly comedic tale of exploration by two men, both with issues? Not really. Doesn't make it a bad read though, just means you'll walk away thinking "ok well that was quite nice" rather than "wow I am a better and more well rounded sentient entity for reading that".
July 3, 2025
What a mess! The edition I read had a summary at the end, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to say what I have just read, now I know that it was only one of the two protagonists, Humboldt, who made the journeys, the other one stayed back in Germany, or what is today Germany, as it was made up of several principalities, a bit like Italy, in my understanding.
If the novel was in any way like the summary, an adventurous fictional tale of the two men’s lives, I might have enjoyed it, but it was all over the place, jumping back and forth, and I never really got an idea of Humboldt’s character, except that he was very diligent with all his groundbreaking discoveries.
The other character, Gauss, was just a grumpy old man most of the time, tormented by constant stomach aches. I was throughout my reading tempted to give it up, as I was bored and confused, Gauss’s wife dies in childbirth, but a few pages on she is still alive and causing nuisance. Or did I get her mixed up with another character? I don’t know and at that point I didn’t care.
I wonder why it was such a success in Germany, I can see its cleverness, but I also think that there are several anomalies and examples of 21st century’s thinking, not that I wrote them down, just my impression.
I might read more from this author, but I will leave it a while, so the impact of this novel has worn off.
If the novel was in any way like the summary, an adventurous fictional tale of the two men’s lives, I might have enjoyed it, but it was all over the place, jumping back and forth, and I never really got an idea of Humboldt’s character, except that he was very diligent with all his groundbreaking discoveries.
The other character, Gauss, was just a grumpy old man most of the time, tormented by constant stomach aches. I was throughout my reading tempted to give it up, as I was bored and confused, Gauss’s wife dies in childbirth, but a few pages on she is still alive and causing nuisance. Or did I get her mixed up with another character? I don’t know and at that point I didn’t care.
I wonder why it was such a success in Germany, I can see its cleverness, but I also think that there are several anomalies and examples of 21st century’s thinking, not that I wrote them down, just my impression.
I might read more from this author, but I will leave it a while, so the impact of this novel has worn off.
April 8, 2025
ein kluger, unaufdringlich gebildeter, lässiger, lakonischer, leise ironischer, humorvoller, unaufgeregt temporeicher Geschichtenerzähler erzählt Geschichte. Chapeau.
"Geschichten wisse er keine, sagte [der Naturforscher Alexander] Humboldt und schob seinen Hut zurecht, den der [aus einem Käfig auf dem Forschungsschiff entflohene] Affe umgedreht hatte. Auch möge er das Erzählen nicht. Aber er könne das schönste deutsche Gedicht vortragen, frei ins Spanische übersetzt. Oberhalb aller Bergspitzen sei es still, in den Bäumen kein Wind zu fühlen, auch die Vögel seien ruhig, und bald werde man tot sein.
[...]
Fertig, sagte Humboldt."
"Geschichten wisse er keine, sagte [der Naturforscher Alexander] Humboldt und schob seinen Hut zurecht, den der [aus einem Käfig auf dem Forschungsschiff entflohene] Affe umgedreht hatte. Auch möge er das Erzählen nicht. Aber er könne das schönste deutsche Gedicht vortragen, frei ins Spanische übersetzt. Oberhalb aller Bergspitzen sei es still, in den Bäumen kein Wind zu fühlen, auch die Vögel seien ruhig, und bald werde man tot sein.
[...]
Fertig, sagte Humboldt."
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