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16 WHAT 18 LIFE 



physicist talking about electron orbits and other 

 such remote matters, but quite another to have him 

 advance the idea that these things may have some- 

 thing to do with biology. To both the physicist and 

 the biologist the really real is the familiar. Un- 

 familiarity always tends to breed a certain degree 

 of prejudice and antagonism. But in this particular 

 instance there is less need for concern over the 

 standard and expected opposition to a new idea than 

 is usually the case, for Mrs. Gaskell's hypothesis is 

 capable of experimental test. And by such test, if 

 and when made— and incidentally the making will 

 be no easy task — either its supporters or its oppo- 

 nents will be confuted. The candor and moral cour- 

 age with which she submits her ideas to this test 

 are worthy of all praise. I find no hedging in the 

 book, nor alibis carefully made ready in advance. 



Mrs. Gaskell has read widely, though by no means 

 exhaustively, in the literature of biology. Any pro- 

 fessional biological reader of the book will note 

 instances where she could have adduced more, and 

 in some cases more pertinent, evidence in support 

 of the particular point under discussion. In a sense 

 all of the specifically biological chapters of the 

 book, which discuss the biological implications and 

 consequences of the theory are, at this stage, pre- 

 mature. If the theory is not, in fact, true, these 



