4 NATIONAL TRENDS IN BIOLOGY 



on authority in the past, we must not forget that all mod- 

 ern fads, whether in medicine, politics, or religion, are 

 the result of accepting interpretations on the authority 

 of modern interpreters, just as men of the past accepted 

 authority of facts. 



For facts in and of themselves are worthless; it is 

 what they mean that counts, and meanings are always to 

 be found only through a logical, philosophical interpreta- 

 tion of whatever facts may be at hand. Such facts must, 

 of course, be obtained from actual experimentation ; that 

 is, by demonstrating that identical results are always 

 forthcoming, when the same act or combination of acts 

 is performed. 



It is interesting to compare the work done in the scien- 

 tific laboratory with that of the photographer. The efforts 

 of each certainly show a striking similarity, for are we 

 not really trying to present a picture to the world ? There- 

 fore, with the photographer, we must: 



1. Clear away all that is unimportant. 



2. Choose a subject. 



3. Have the proper perspective; that is, have the rela- 

 tionship of everything about the subject in proper form, 

 so as not to unduly stress any one point. In other words, 

 we must see that we have taken everything into con- 

 sideration. We must be sure that no other branch of 

 science has points and conclusions which may destroy 

 our own, since, if a single exception is found in science, 

 it destroys the law. 



