Our world is full of measurements - but who decides what we measure and how?

Measuring The Immeasurable

We live with a paradox. We need to measure our world to make sense of it, but important things are really hard to measure. And, when we do measure important things, how do we tell people what we have found out?  Dr Simon Bell from The Open University and the Bayswater Institute investigates the world of indicators (or measurements).  Who decides what we measure – from ash cloud particles, to calories consumed, to GDP – how do we measure things and do these indicators have an influence on the policies within the EU that affect us all?