Scale describes an object’s size in relation to the size of other objects. Often, scale refers the comparison of different units of measurement relative to one another, but a sense of scale is also an intuitive capacity. The base scale from which one operates establishes what is important or in focus. Scale represents a set of constraints on any object or system. In his essay “On Being the Right Size,” J.B.S. Haldane points out that relative size determines both design in living organisms, and what forces are significant to them (Haldane 1991). A bug, for instance, may be relatively unconcerned with the force of gravity. Because of its hard exoskeleton and high surface-area-to-volume ratio, it can fall from a height many times its body length without harm. But the distribution of its weight in relation to the surface tension of a liquid can determine whether it’s drinking or drowning.
You and Us Silent Beings
By Ségolène Guinard
"They told me about the time before the great fires. Before everything became ashes..."
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