Adam Savage's Epiphany on the Science of Measurement!

Thank you Adam for bringing attention to the science of metrology. We hope you’re able to visit us and tour our facility one day. I’m pretty sure you’d enjoy the calibration lab!

Adam, thank you for not editing out any goofs, repetitions or dead air. Being able to listen along at a human pace makes these tool tips unusually watchable amongst the breathless TikTok madness that is most of YouTube.

I'm a QC Inspector for the aerospace, defense, nuclear/powe-gen, and med device industry. I routinely inspect things that are measured to the micron and less, mostly spinal medical implants and parts used to perform angioplasty...on infants. I get small. In my 20 years of working small, I have never seen anyone so passionate and enamored of process as myself, until now. Also, your quote "All measurement is a compromise or circumstances." Is beautiful and I will be printing and framing it for my office (quoting you of course), come Monday. Thank you for shedding a little light on something I take very seriously. I could tell you some really cool stories and circumstances surrounding the processes and environments required to make measurements even smaller than those you discussed. Also, Mitutoyo, accept no substitutes.

I love how unscripted this is. It feels like a really good conversation with a professor at the end of the day after class.

Adam at 37:34, "I am like a bull in a china shop." I'm surprised Adam still uses this phrase since he knows that bulls avoid knocking over china while in a china shop since he tested this on Mythbusters!

"This morning I woke up thinking about gauge blocks..." Adam Savage is an international treasure.

I love the “im like a bull in a china shop” line from Adam & then the silent pause & realization that he has already Busted that myth. Still one of my favorite episodes ever & biggest surprises from the show.

I'm as of recently a Quality Analyst at an engine factory. I don't get to use it yet, but the measurement labs and equipment are terrifying and awe-inspiring. Terrifying in how unbelievably difficult it is to measure things this accurately, and we're doing it. I see lots of Mitutoyo's stuff as well as Starrett, lots of granite everywhere, and the really fancy stuff like the gauge blocks are locked up in a special lab that's squeaky clean, in stark contrast to the common filth of the factory. It just sparks a sense of reverence, Quality is the field where the philosophical and abstract are blended with the physical and concrete, that's why I love it so much.

From my time in a Cal lab I'll never forget this: "a man with a watch knows what time it is. Give him another watch and he's not so sure anymore." It's great to see a person as enthusiastic as Adam.

This video is the perfect example is why I idolize Adam.

Been a Metrologist for 23 years. You cant imagine how awesome it is knowing that more people will know how cool and amazing the field is from this. We define reality lol.

I've been a metrologist for 31 years, absolutely LOVE how much Adam brings to our science and career. Every day, tens of thousands of calibrations are done so that everything you use as a consumer is measured to the millionth of 'whatever'. Love this channel!

I'm a metrologist and I'm making this video required viewing for all the engineers I have to work with. My favorite measurement tool is a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM). After almost 20 years of Adam teaching me new stuff, I finally know a little more about the subject than he did. Yet he still managed to explain it better than I could. Thanks, as always.

Long live the people who possess this level of enthusiasm, for geeky things.

Never thought a video about measurement would make me tear up, but here I am! This inspired a pure sense of awe and fascination about the world that we think we understand. One of my favorite quotes is, "The more I learn, the less I know." What seems like a simple question and answer becomes a constellation of variability. I find that amazing.

Adam I've been in fabricating and machine my entire working life, and am currently a quality manager at a machine shop. Thank you for being passionate about something that so many take for granted. As I was showing my wife portions of this video, and I was geeking out over it, she looked at me like she had to hurry up and go change the cats litter boxes and I was keeping her from that. I appreciate it more than you know!!! Have a fabulous day!

"Any measurement without the knowledge of uncertainty is meaningless" - Walter Lewin My favorite quote when it comes to accuracy

I truly believe Adam Savage is the only person that can say "I woke up this morning thinking about gauge blocks" and no one bats an eye.

I saw a program on British TV a decade ago called " how long is a piece of string?" which explored this very fractal accuracy of measurement. Fascinating. You did a good job there, Adam.

Adam. I knew nothing of nothing about this subject. In the beginning, I was kind of lost. At the end I was AMAZED. Yes, you can always half a half, there is no “zero” in measurement. The science you explained here was so very interesting. Those blocks are INSANE. As someone who was clueless about this subject, I certainly learned something today. Thanks!