256 hitchcock: STUDY of the local flora 



Returning to our investigator of asters, his constructive work 

 begins when he has familiarized himself with the work of others, 

 knows the species or groups of species in a general way, and 

 begins to look at things as they are rather than at things as 

 others say they are. In breaking away from tradition he should 

 be careful to maintain an attitude of fairness toward those 

 leaders of thought who have been responsible for the dominance 

 of the concepts he rejects. We all make mistakes and our 

 reputation is affected by their number and character. But to 

 assume that the statements in a manual are free from error in 

 details, and, on the discovery of small errors, to condemn the 

 author and reject his authority, is unfair. If a botanist in 

 whom we have confidence makes a statement concerning Aster 

 which we know to be based upon carefully weighed evidence, 

 we are fully justified in assuming the probable truth of the 

 statement. Nevertheless our worker should not hesitate to 

 verify the statement if it concerns that upon which he wishes to 

 form an independent judgment. While authority may through 

 error turn the channels of thought for a time in the wrong direc- 

 tion, yet the more common hampering effect of authority is an 

 unconscious influence of the leader upon the follower. That 

 is, the follower gives to the casual or ill-considered statements 

 of the leader, the same weight that he does to those carefully 

 thought out. Few leaders fully realize with what unquestioning 

 faith their every statement is received by their loyal followers. 

 Certain statements botanical authorities can make with confi- 

 dence. Other statements they make casually or with reserva- 

 tions, not always being careful to distinguish by the form of 

 the statement the two mental attitudes. 



Having burst the shackles of authority, our friend should 

 make rapid progress with his asters. The exhilarating freedom 

 is delightful but not infrequently seductive. He has now be- 

 come a specialist. He feels, and with good reason, that he 

 knows more about the District asters than anyone else. He 

 should, however, keep clearly in mind the danger confronting 

 every specialist — the danger of substituting the authority of 

 self for the authority of his predecessors. The tendency to 



