This is a tale worthy of the title “Indiana Jones and the Meter” as told by Canadian science writer Stephen Strauss. It was once a feudal right to set measures and make other definitions. Indeed, one “definition of power was how far around you people would accept your measures.” Science and metric triumphed after the French Revolution, yet because of self governance the responsibility for most definitions resides now in no-man’s-land. (7:54 minutes, CBC Digital – April 8, 1995) Other definitions: Decimal System, metric, deciday, decisecond, toise, pound, Sumerian twelve double hour day (the 3000 year old 24-hour day) and mile.

George Carlin defines modern man in an entertaining string of almost 300 definitions, labels and expressions in a three and one-half minute spoof. That is almost one per second! Carlin clearly succeeds in highlighting the huge range of definitions that an American audience can grasp. He says that he “can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.” The formal definition of a nanosecond is one-billionth of a second, yet everyone knows that that is not what he meant. (3:33 minutes, YouTube) Other definitions: way too many to list, so why not listen.

Conservationists were up-in-arms over the Bush administration’s redefinition of the term "wetlands." Comedian Stephen Colbert quips, "They are reinvigorating old words that sadly had fallen out of use, and they’re giving new meaning to words we thought we understood." The ruling class used to set definitions by fiat, but not anymore. (Colbert Report #02045 - 04/04/2006, 3:11 minutes) Other definitions: environment, "thruthiness" and huggers.