On Mon, 26 Feb 2018 07:12:42 -0800 (PST), Andre Jute
wrote:

...that even artists are aware that the measure of the hardness is a
durometer, and that there are several meters the measurements of
which have not been adequately standardized

Rubbish. ASTM D2240-15e1 is the standard.
https://www.astm.org/Standards/D2240.htm

-- and now Jeff comes up with the Shore A, which suggests there
is at least a B model of the most trusted model as well, which
gives different results,

Yes, there is a Shore B.
There are 12 scales. [A, B, C, D, DO, E, M, O, OO, OOO, OOO-S, R]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shore_durometer#Method_of_measurement

the same way two DVM's that load
the circuit under measurement differently will give two different
results.

My DVM (digital volts guesser) will always produce the result which I
expect. If not, I'll just find another DVM that agrees with my
expectations. See Index of Conformity(tm).

Another way of putting the preceding sentence is that even with
a measurement in hand, you don't know **** because your measurement
is valid only for a particular model meter. Charming.

It's more likely that such a discrepancy is due to either using the
wrong Durometer or measuring in the extremes of its operating range.
For example, the typical Shore A Durometer is accurate from 20 - 80
Sa. If you want to measure really soft rubber, you need a Shore O or
OO. For hard plastics, Shore D.
https://www.smooth-on.com/pw/site/assets/files/30090/durometerchart.png

I'm not confused because I anyway do this crap by analogy and
comparison or work it out the slow way by reconstruction from
the first principles of physics (and fervent prayer that I'll
be distracted by something more urgent before long)

Keep your mind off the exercise physiologist and you'll probably do
better.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558