NOTES 489 



Neglected Discoveries 



Toilers at science generally complain that no one appreciates 

 the importance of their labours. We spend our lives digging 

 in the ditch in search of the priceless jewel which we imagine 

 to be there ; and the World passes by upon the road, pauses 

 a minute, asks what we are looking for, and when we cannot 

 tell him, goes on his way with a smile singing a common tune. 

 But, after all, we are allowed to remain and go on digging in 

 peace. A very distinguished man of science writes as follows : 



" I feel strongly that 's work should have been more 



noticed. . . . The important work in that I did twenty- 

 nine years ago and at which I have been working at intervals 

 ever since, has received no notice and was not even mentioned 



in 's book published sixteen years ago. The result has 



been, though, that I have collared the ' stuff ' and others have 

 not." The world's neglect is certainly bad for science and bad 

 for the public, but it is often of advantage to the worker for the 

 reason given. The neglect is a period of gestation which 

 enables the discovery to leap full-armed into existence when 

 the time is ripe, instead of having to undergo the vicissitudes 

 of infant life. Undoubtedly the great Greek legend of the 

 birth of Pallas Athene, the goddess of Science, panoplied 

 straight from the brain of Zeus, was, like so many of the 

 other magnificent Greek legends, a story told by some unknown 

 poet or seer before the days of writing to impress humanity 

 with a great truth. Gods and discoveries are not made in a 

 day. It is often good that the creating mind should be forced 

 to create in solitude and thus to perfect its work for an im- 

 mortal existence. 



The Weakness of Committee Government 



Nearly all administration in Britain is dominated by com- 

 mittees in some form or another, and it is surprising that no 

 one appears to have discussed in a scientific spirit the advantages 

 or disadvantages of this. We are told that there is wisdom to 

 be found in a multitude of councillors ; but, on the other hand, 

 we know that too many cooks spoil the broth ; and there is 

 also a widely prevalent idea that persons who are good at 

 talking are seldom good at doing. Probably committees like 

 other things have their advantages and their disadvantages 

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