336 proceedings: anthropological society 



The 742d meeting was held on May 23, 1914, at the Cosmos Club, Vice- 

 President Burgess in the chair; 27 persons present. 



Mr. E. Buckingham presented a paper on The iiiterpretation of experi- 

 jnents on models. The speaker began by deducing a general theorem 

 regarding the form which physical equations must have in order to 

 satisfy the requirement of dimensional homogeneity. The theorem may 

 ])e stated as follows: If a relation subsists among a number of physical 

 quantities, and if we form all the possible independent dimensionless 

 products of powers of these quantities, any equation which describes 

 the relation is reducible to the statement that some unknown function 

 of these dimensionless products, taken as independent arguments, must 

 vanish. The method of determining the number and forms of these 

 products was explained. This theorem may be regarded as a convenient 

 general summary of the requirement of dimensional homogeneity. It 

 may be looked at from various standpoints and utilized for various 

 purposes. The speaker gave several illustrative examples to show the 

 practical operation of the theorem. The paper was discussed by Messrs. 

 Hersey, White, Burgess, and Humphreys. 



Mr. G. K. Burgess spoke informally on The allotropy of iron, calling 

 attention to recent advances made with particular reference to jS-iron. 

 The communication was discussed by Mr. White. 



Mr. W. J. Humphreys spoke informally on Is lightning discharge of 

 direct or oscillatory characterf The speaker concludes that it cannot be 

 oscillatory. The communication was discussed by Messrs. White, 

 Agnew, and C. A. Briggs. At 10 p.m. the meeting adjourned. 



J. A. Fleming, Secretary. 



THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



At the 472d regular meeting of the Society held at the National 

 Museum, Tuesday, February 17, 1914, at 4:30 o'clock, Mr. J. N. B. 

 Hewitt gave an address entitled. The psychology of the myth. A myth is 

 the utterance of savage man; it is a naive creative concept. A myth 

 treats of one or more of the "elder people," the familiar "first people," 

 whom men of later times call "the gods." The subject-matter of myths 

 is not human activity; for none relate to human beings, and none treat of 

 things done since the appearance of man on earth. A myth is fictitious 

 only in form and letter; but it is true in substance and spirit; truth is 

 eternal, universal. 



In terms of human form, attribute and activity, myths explain from 

 the premises of their makers in just what manner the present order of 

 things arose from one or more antecedent orders of things, and just how 

 the present order is maintained. 



The epos is the later dress or adornment of the mythos concept in 

 poetic form as legend, saga, or story. 



The logos is the still later literary criticism — the analytic and synthetic 

 treatment — of the mj^thos and the epos; it is the intelhgent, interpreta- 

 tive analysis and exegesis of the concept expressed by the mythos; it is 



