The Developing of Communication 



of inquiring minds began to study this unknown force, and 

 little by little human intelligence began to uncover some of 

 its habits. By the time this force was called upon to become 

 a means of communicating thought, it had been discovered 

 that it had a speed sufficient to travel several times around 

 the earth in a single second and that it would follow a cer- 

 tain path in the form of a conductor if the human mind 

 would first prepare and direct the way, and that many 

 objects besides amber would attract lighter bodies when 

 rubbed, thus generating frictional electricity. 



Like the acorn in its hull that contains all the potential 

 possibilities of the giant oak, so the force of electricity at 

 this period of Cultural Evolution contained all the poten- 

 tial possibilities that were to revolutionize the industries 

 of man and play so great a part in his habits and customs 

 and in his manner of living. He set about to direct and 

 control this force and to make it obedient to his will and 

 this procedure was one of many trials and experiments, of 

 discarding the useless and keeping the useful, of adaptation, 

 change, modification, development and growth, until the 

 combined ideas of the searchers had discovered a method of 

 control suited to his use. In this respect as well as in all 

 others, Cultural Evolution was following the lessons taught 

 by Organic Evolution that nothing comes by chance, but 

 that there must be adaptation, change and growth. 



The problem that was now presented was the devising 

 of a system of signals that could be understood and inter- 

 preted by both the sender and the receiver. Many crude 

 but ingenius devices were conceived and put into limited use 

 for sending messages over wires, but the credit belongs to 



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