College 111 



work for asking more precise questions, but more and more 

 rarely will they be able to suggest the answers. 



A more immediately practical point is raised by the 

 fact that almost all fields of science now employ methods 

 of observation which are basically physical or chemical 

 in nature. The oceanographer, for example, sets off an 

 explosive charge and traces the sound as it is reflected 

 or refracted by the water of the ocean and of the several 

 layers of rock underlying it. The instruments he uses to 

 make his observations and the formulas he employs in 

 interpreting the results are both dependent for their effec- 

 tiveness on a sound knowledge of basic physical principles. 

 Highly refined chemical methods for separating and iden- 

 tifying isotopes give him additional data on the age of 

 the water in various layers of the sea and thus reveal the 

 nature of vertical as well as horizontal ocean currents. 



Similarly, the modern psychologist uses the most ad- 

 vanced sorts of electronic apparatus to record the electrical 

 activity of the brain during the performance of such classi- 

 cal psychological phenomena as sensation, perception, and 

 learning. If he is a very modern psychologist, he may even 

 attempt to interpret the results with formulas derived from 

 study of the passage of electrical impulses through ran- 

 domly arranged electronic networks. Already such terms 

 as "positive and negative feedback" and "self-correcting, 

 goal-directed activity," derived from the study of physical 

 servo systems, have served to guide the hand and brain 

 of the psychologist as he tries to dissect the tangled wires 

 that connect the brain with the mind. 



A third reason for deferring the choice of a scientific 

 specialty until one has had considerable experience with 

 the basic triad has to do with the sort of evidence one 

 needs in order to make a choice. No matter how much 



