Measurement is Even Harder than You Think

When we take a drug or a dietary supplement, we often ask ourselves whether the active ingredient is actually there.  And is it there in the amount listed on the label?

We hope that the manufacturer tested the product.  If it’s a drug, the answer is almost assuredly yes.  If it’s a dietary supplement, well…

But even if it did get tested, there are lots of things that can go wrong.  We’re not going to get into the technical details of analytical method validation here.  We’re going to zoom out and ask about the purpose of measurement.  What are we trying to accomplish with our measurement?

While I was on a business trip in Germany I had a nice evening with some of the colleagues in a bar drinking wonderful beer.  I had driven to the site from the airport down the autobahn and was again exhilarated by the fact that I could put the pedal to the metal and go as fast as I wanted.

“What’s the crash rate on the autobahn,” I asked.  “It must be really high.”

“Oh, no,” replied ‘Johann’.  “it’s no higher than anywhere else.”

Immediately, 'Reinhard' interjected, “Wait, I have a friend who works in the medical examiner’s office in a small town in the Palatinate.  There was a horrible crash nearby and the body was brought into that office.  The car was traveling a such a speed that it flew completely off the pavement and landed in a field 30 meters away.

“The autobahn investigators came to that office to question the medical examiner. ‘How did this man die?  Was he alive when the car left the autobahn?’

‘Oh, yes,’ said the medical examiner.  He didn’t die until the car hit the farmer’s field.’

‘That settles it,’ said the investigators.  ‘Agricultural accident.’ “

Now, I can’t swear to the veracity of this story.  It may be made up.  All I can tell you is that I didn’t make it up and there are many people in the Palatinate who believe it.

My point here is that there are a lot of things that can go wrong during a measurement.  Of course, the technology itself can be complicated.  But, measurement is much more than technology.  You also have to place that technology within a management system that ensures unbiased reporting.

How about you?  Do you have a similar story?  Comment below.