ABSTRACT
The concluding chapter ties together the threads of the preceding chapters through a discussion of quantification. The philosophy, history, and morality of numbers are discussed, followed by an exploration of future approaches to research into the archaeology of numbers. Such an archaeology could extend to a diverse spectrum of phenomena—calories, speed limits, credit scores, GDPs, or sports statistics. It is argued that the primary reason that European decision-makers began privileging quantified metrics is that numbers began to be perceived as amoral—a good thing in the estimation of Bacon and Hobbes because it circumvented political or religious biases. That is, quantification was promoted as indifferent and disinterested information. The concern here is how material conditions are transformed into numbers. How are starvation (the lack of food), work (muscles, hammers, or horses), or wealth (coins, cattle, or land) transformed into numbers? How is global warming transformed into a number? The chapter concludes with some comments on how this archaeology of temperature may contribute to ongoing environmental and economic injustice.
