SCIENTISTS 



Hardly any discovery is possible without making use of a 

 knowledge gained by others. The vast store of scientific knowledge 

 which is to-day available could never have been built up if 

 scientists did not pool their contributions. The publication of 

 experimental results and observations so that they are available 

 to others and open to criticism is one of the fundamental 

 principles on which modem science is based. Secrecy is contrary 

 to the best interests and spirit of science. It prevents the individual 

 contributing to further progress; it usually means that he or his 

 employer is trying to exploit for their own gain some advance 

 made by building on the knowledge which others have freely 

 given. Much research is carried out in secret in industry and in 

 government war departments. This seems to be inevitable in the 

 world as it is to-day, but it is nevertheless wrong in principle. 

 Ideally, freedom to publish, provided only that the work has 

 sufficient merit, should be a basic right of all research workers. 

 It is said that occasionally, even in agricultural research, results 

 may be suppressed because they are embarrassing to government 

 authorities.^^ This would seem to be a dangerous and shortsighted 

 policy. 



Personal secrecy in laboratories not subject to any restrictions 

 is not infrequently shown by workers who are afraid that someone 

 else will steal their preliminary results and bring them to fruition 

 and publish before they themselves are able to do so. This form 

 of temporary secrecy can hardly be regarded as a breach of 

 scientific ethics but, although understandable, it is not commend- 

 able, for free interchange of information and ideas helps hasten 

 the advance of science. Nevertheless information given in confi- 

 dence must be respected as such and not handed on to others. A 

 travelling scientist visiting various laboratories may himself be 

 perfectly honourable in not taking advantage of unpublished 

 information he is given, but may inadvertently hand on such 

 information to a less scrupulous individual. The traveller can best 

 avoid this risk by asking not to be told anything that is wished 

 to be kept confidential, for it is difficult to remember what is for 

 restricted distribution and what not. 



Even in the scientific world, unfortunately, one occasionally 

 encounters national jealousies. These are manifest by lack of 

 appreciation or acknowledgment of work done in other countries. 



147 



