REMARKS TO THE STUDENT xxxiii 



the students at a table. Upon examining such cases, it appears that 

 someone got it wrong and the rest have followed like sheep, really 

 thinking they have seen what they have drawn or described. If you 

 find yourself doing this, try to have more confidence in your own eyes 

 and hands. You can see what is called for in such a course as this as 

 well as the next man, and perhaps better if you put your mind on it; 

 and you should determine that even though others may follow a wrong 

 lead you will not. Moreover, do not add items that you have not seen 

 to notes or drawings, thinking you must always show everything. An 

 instructor would rather have you explain in labeling that the nucleus 

 or any other part "was not seen" than to have you draw it from your 

 imagination. He knows that there are often details that the best of 

 students may not find within a reasonable time and that the material 

 does not always prove satisfactory even when care is used. He has 

 more respect for the individual who does not claim to find everything, 

 but finds enough to make it clear that he is getting all that can be 

 fairly expected. It is well to be honest with your instructor, but even 

 more important to guard against habits of self-deception. These gen- 

 eral remarks apply to all parts of your work. 



There is sometimes a tendency to treat laboratory work as a 

 mechanical process and to regard the real studying in a course as 

 something done from books. The latter are, of course, important; 

 but the motto of Agassiz, "Study nature, not books," recognizes the 

 importance of the laboratory and the field. Proper understanding of 

 a topic considered in the laboratory often involves knowledge of facts 

 previously ascertained in lectures and textbook. Hence it is important 

 that you keep yourself well prepared on all assignments and on reviews 

 of past work. The understanding of what is seen today often depends 

 upon what was seen in the laboratory last week. It is easy to let the 

 work degenerate with an unthinking manipulation of hands and in- 

 struments. To be successful it must be a process of thoughtful study. 

 Read your directions with care. If you follow them explicitly and 

 the instructor has furnished you with suitable material, you will see 

 what is called for with a minimum of assistance. To a considerable 

 extent, these direction* are your instructor. If you do your part well, 

 the individual who is your laboratory teacher can spend most of his 

 time seeing that you have the best of opportunities and explaining to 

 you the general conclusions that can be drawn from such detailed facts 

 as you are observing. Instead of mere drudgery over details, you will 

 then be getting something of the great principles of the science, and 

 understanding them because you know the facts upon which they are 

 founded. 



