Over the past week, I had a few instances where I had an immediate reaction: “Wittgenstein’s Ruler.” In each case, the person with whom I was speaking offered a similar reaction of, “Huh?” I retraced my steps and restated my thinking. But, I think the idea of Wittgenstein’s Ruler is so important, and Wittgenstein’s story fascinating, that I would invest ten minutes into a blogpost.
Who was Ludwig Wittgenstein?
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) was an Austrian philosopher, regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. His work primarily focused on the philosophy of language, logic, and the nature of meaning.
While Wittgenstein was from Vienna and wrote the book Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, which was influential on members of the Vienna Circle, he was not considered a member of this group; This group was interested in developing the philosophical movement known as logical positivism (or logical empiricism.)
Wittgenstein’s life was marked by personal struggles and dramatic changes, including serving in World War I, renouncing a vast inheritance, and periodically abandoning academic work. His intellectual journey makes him a unique figure in the history of philosophy. One story I absolutely adore is related to his interaction with Karl Popper in 1946 at the London School of Economics, which inspired a book by David Edmonds and John Eidinow: Wittgenstein’s Poker: The Story of a Ten-Minute Argument Between Two Great Philosophers. Per the account from Wiki:
"The two [Popper and Wittgenstein] argued vehemently over whether there existed substantial problems in philosophy or merely linguistic puzzles—the latter being Wittgenstein's position. According to accounts, Wittgenstein gestured with a fireplace poker during the argument, emphasizing his points. When Popper suggested that philosophy did indeed deal with real problems, such as establishing moral guidelines, Wittgenstein allegedly thrust the poker at Popper, challenging him to give an example of a moral rule. Popper later claimed he responded, 'Not to threaten visiting lecturers with pokers,' upon which Wittgenstein threw down the poker and stormed out."
Wittgenstein’s Ruler
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in his book Fooled By Randomness, offered a popularized idea from Wittgenstein:
“Unless you have confidence in the ruler’s accuracy, using it to measure something may be more informative about the ruler than about the thing being measured.”
Applying Wittgenstein’s Ruler: Two examples
A pair of examples from the past few days:
- Personal Wealth – My thought is that, if you are using a personal financial statement as an indicator of wealth, you are demonstrating as much about your own values as you are assessing the wealth of the object; Wealth is more than a financial position. By measuring finances in a vacuum, you are learning more about the ruler (i.e. the values of the assessor) than you are about the object “being measured.”
- Academic Performance – My daughter, who recently started high school, was extremely stressed about a science exam last week (to the point of tears!) She worried that a poor grade would limit her college prospects and affect her future. Her teachers and guidance counselors reinforced this view, leaving me as “just a random dad” with a different opinion. I believe that focusing too narrowly on test scores reveals more about our educational “ruler”—valuing grades and CVs over optimal personal development. I’d much prefer that my children prioritize building strong study habits, gaining diverse experiences, and cultivating a love of learning, even if it means a suboptimal curriculum vitae.
Thanks for reading my post! The stories of these intellectuals, including analysis of their ideas, energize me so much. Wittgenstein, Popper, Parfit, Hume, Camus, Sartre, Kierkegaard, Singer, Goethe, Chekhov, etc. No one should be bored in our world as long as the ideas and stories of these folks remain unexplored.
I hope you are all having a wonderful week! I am pleased to be posting this from our new office space at 110 Pine Hall Court. We still have a little work to do to get desks and chair assembled and build the kitchenette, but we are close to done! If you drive by and notice my white Volvo in the parking lot, please stop by and say, “Hello!” I even have a little chess board set-up for a game, if you feel like playing! I am a glutton for punishment!!
