Summary
Size in general is the magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, geometrical size (or spatial size) can refer to linear dimensions (length, width, height, diameter, perimeter), area, or volume. Size can also be measured in terms of mass, especially when assuming a density range. In mathematical terms, "size is a concept abstracted from the process of measuring by comparing a longer to a shorter". Size is determined by the process of comparing or measuring objects, which results in the determination of the magnitude of a quantity, such as length or mass, relative to a unit of measurement. Such a magnitude is usually expressed as a numerical value of units on a previously established spatial scale, such as meters or inches. The sizes with which humans tend to be most familiar are body dimensions (measures of anthropometry), which include measures such as human height and human body weight. These measures can, in the aggregate, allow the generation of commercially useful distributions of products that accommodate expected body sizes, as with the creation of clothing sizes and shoe sizes, and with the standardization of door frame dimensions, ceiling heights, and bed sizes. The human experience of size can lead to a psychological tendency towards size bias, wherein the relative importance or perceived complexity of organisms and other objects is judged based on their size relative to humans, and particularly whether this size makes them easy to observe without aid. Humans most frequently perceive the size of objects through visual cues. One common means of perceiving size is to compare the size of a newly observed object with the size of a familiar object whose size is already known. Binocular vision gives humans the capacity for depth perception, which can be used to judge which of several objects is closer, and by how much, which allows for some estimation of the size of the more distant object relative to the closer object. This also allows for the estimation of the size of large objects based on comparison of closer and farther parts of the same object.
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