The construction of colorimetry by committee

Johnston, S.F. (1996) The construction of colorimetry by committee. Science in Context, 9(4), pp. 387-420.

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Abstract

This paper explores the confrontation of physical and contextual factors involved in the emergence of the subject of color measurement, which stabilized in essentially its present form during the interwar period. The contentions surrounding the specialty had both a national and a disciplinary dimension. German dominance was curtailed by American and British contributions after World War I. Particularly in America, communities of physicists and psychologists had different commitments to divergent views of nature and human perception. They therefore had to negotiate a compromise between their desire for a quantitative system of description and the perceived complexity and human-centeredness of color judgement. These debates were played out not in the laboratory but rather in institutionalized encounters on standards committees. Groups such as this constitute a relatively unexplored historiographic and social site of investigation. The heterogeneity of such committees, and their products, highlight the problems of identifying and following such ephemeral historical 'actors'.

Item Type:Articles
Keywords:colorimetry; history of science; standards committees; physicists; psychologists; social construction
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Johnston, Professor Sean
Authors: Johnston, S.F.
Subjects:Q Science > Q Science (General)
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social & Environmental Sustainability
Journal Name:Science in Context
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
ISSN:0269-8897
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 1996 Cambridge University Press
First Published:First published in Science in context (1996):387-420
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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