Rules: A Short History of What We Live By

Historian Lorraine Daston traces how rules have changed from flexible models requiring judgment to precise instructions designed for uniform use. Her examples range across law, monastic orders, recipes, games, mathematics, machines, traffic systems, and scientific method. The book distinguishes thick rules adapted to circumstances from thin rules intended to minimize discretion, showing how each form reflects different ideas about knowledge, authority, reason, and human judgment across centuries.