SPREAD OF UNDERSTANDING 13 



capped by the most erratic spelling of all languages dead or alive. 

 Poor children! It did not matter so much in the past, when they 

 had but little to learn, but now that we can not find enough time 

 to teach them the essentials, it seems almost criminal to waste 

 their attention upon such artificial knowledge. For even if they 

 should know all the relations between those measures, and all the 

 eccentricities of the English dictionary, and even, if you please, 

 the peculiarities of many other languages, would they be able to 

 understand the world any better? Certainly not. They might just 

 as well have memorized the telephone directory. For example, to 

 know that you must spell knee and pronounce nee is no real 

 knowledge for it does not teach you anything about the nature of 

 things in general or of knees in particular. This gives one at best 

 a clearer notion of human perversity; it can give one no knowl- 

 edge of nature, no understanding of the cosmos. Poor little chil- 

 dren, victims of the insane obstinacy of their elders and of the 

 ignorance and lack of imagination of the educators. . . ." 



Uncle Christiaan is so overcome that he will not talk any more. 

 It is my turn now to soothe and humor him. Soon he will recover 

 his enthusiasm and, maybe, his voice. 



To be sure, in the domain of pure science, progress has now be- 

 come far more rapid because the value of discoveries is no longer 

 judged by the crowds from an irrational point of view, but by ex- 

 perts from a purely technical one. Even the most revolutionary 

 theories, such as radioactivity, the quanta, or relativity, are exam- 

 ined quietly by a very small body of scientists who are kept con- 

 stantly on their guard by mutual criticism and who are expected 

 to justify their every opinion. Their verdict, whichever it be, de- 

 stroys any irrational obstruction in the egg. Unfortunately such 

 improved methods can be used only in the case of problems amen- 

 able to a scientific treatment, without any philosophic or senti- 

 mental loophole, and which are of sufficient technicality to be 

 beyond the reach of meddling people. In the field of technology, 

 though so close to that of science, new ideas may be jeopardized 



