comment on Measuring Change, Loss and Gain

in response to John Tao's blog:

Measuring change is possible at the macro-level. Measuring loss vs. gain is constantly influx. It depends completely on who is measuring and how they are measuring. Loss and gain requires a value system.

Measuring change is objective, measuring loss and gain is subjective. It is easy to look at something and see how you have changed and how you are different. Take women's rights for example. We can look at them and see a clear progression of change. In the 1920's, women were expected to stay in the home. In the 1950's women had to work outside the home because of WWII.

If you step back and look at a macro level, you can observe change. Now to measure loss vs. gain, you inherently have to put a value to the change that has occured. For example, those who believe that women should be at home to raise their children would see women who go into the workforce as a loss. Those who think that women are a value in the workforce will see this as a gain.

At a micro-level, for somethings there is a clear turning point. Like women's right to vote. There was an amendment made to the constitution and there after, women could vote. However, for most things, it is a slow progression of evolution, which is why you have to be at the macro-level.