1 84 TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



minds. It has been rigorously tested in practise by the physicist and 

 the astronomer, and the engineer joins with them in recommending it 

 to the biologist and sociologist. 



Surely these are simple articles of faith. Accompanied by the reso- 

 lution to base theories on the entire array of observed facts pertinent 

 to the problem in hand, instead of picking and choosing favorable evi- 

 dence, and to fit theories to observation instead of gathering observa- 

 tions to fill out and stiffen up limp theories, they are, so far as I am 

 aware, the whole creed of the working biometrician. He has no petri- 

 fied hypotheses, and his theories are so plastic that they fit all but the 

 minor irregularities of his data. He believes that industry in the de- 

 scription of natural phenomena by statistical constants is more impor- 

 tant than assiduity in the imagination of explanations of them. He 

 has no dogmas except unimpeachable quantitative data, sound logic, 

 checked up arithmetic and cautious open-mindedness in interpretation. 



Though simple in definition these ideals are attainable in practise 



only with the greatest care and exertion. After pointing out some of 



these difficulties in an essay on biometry written as an editorial for the 



first pages of Biometrika, Mr. Galton says: 



Consequently the new departure in science makes its appearance under 

 conditions that are unfavorable to its speedy recognition, and those who labor in 

 it must abide for some time in patience before they can receive much sympathy 

 from the outside world. It is astonishing to witness how long a time may elapse 

 before new ideas are correctly established in the popular mind, however simple 

 they may be in themselves. The slowness with which Darwin's fundamental 

 idea of natural selection became assimilated by scientists generally, is a striking 

 example of the density of human wits. 



The last ten years has shown the truth of these words. Those who 

 have stood for biometry have had to do rather more than " abide for 

 some time in patience," for lack of " sympathy from the outside " has 

 been replaced by open hostility, often coupled with misrepresentation. 

 The biological lump has been sodden and heavy, but the leaven is at 

 last penetrating. A few years ago papers were not infrequently refused 

 publication merely because they were biometric. Now every volume of 

 the best biological journals bears more or less distinctly the impress of 

 the methods associated with the names of Francis Galton and Karl 

 Pearson. 



Eugenics 



A careful study of Mr. Galton's many short papers soon reverses 

 any first impression of desultory ingenuity. Not only a connecting 

 purpose but a practical end is often evident. Detailed illustration 

 would be tedious. Military men have praised the "Art of Travel." 

 His work at Kew Observatory and on the Metereological Council bear 

 witness to this characteristic. The great success of finger print identi- 

 fication is perhaps a better example. 



Nowhere is the bent for the practical to be more clearly seen than 



