BIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA 



velopment of any one specific topic. Again it is clear that Kluyver did 

 not close his eyes to this aspect of his policy; but he consciously did 

 not encourage teamwork during the formative years. He preferred the 

 cultivation of the single individual, who, thrown back on his own 

 resources, could thus engage in a study for which he had evinced en- 

 thusiasm from the start. 



The same type of guidance was received during the work for the 

 thesis ; here too the burden of initiative rested with the candidate, the 

 professor acting the part of the obstinate pupil who had to be con- 

 vinced. When a manuscript had finally been prepared, it was scruti- 

 nized in the most meticulous fashion ; every sentence, every word, was 

 weighed and criticized with unassailable reasoning, leading to revisions 

 in text and in the arrangement of data. An excellent impression of 

 this process may be gained from the following description of Kingma 

 Boltjes, which applies to the humblest publication and the most elab- 

 orate thesis alike. 



'During lengthy evening sessions, often extending till deep into the 

 night, the document is critically discussed. Subsequently, Kluyver 

 literally makes an armed attack on the manuscript, while the author, 

 according to his disposition, resists to a greater or lesser extent. But 

 the end result is invariably the same. With a large pair of scissors the 

 product is ruthlessly, though in a carefully considered manner, cut 

 into pieces. The parts are moved about, and much has to be rewritten 

 in order properly to fit the original pieces together into the new pat- 

 tern. Undeniably, the construction thus becomes more logical, and 

 particularly the readability is immensely improved. An attentive 

 reader will readily recognize the publications prepared under Kluy- 

 ver's guidance by virtue of the numerous distinctive phrases they con- 

 tain; Kluyver himself refers to them as "Leitfossilien" or graptolites. 

 During this undertaking no trouble is too great for him; quietly, un- 

 perturbedly, unaffected by time limits, the entire manuscript, down to 

 the last comma, is examined so to speak under a magnifying glass, 

 with the justification that "Genius is the infinite capacity for taking 

 pains". When at last the proofs arrive, Kluyver actively participates 

 in their correction, and he thinks nothing of assisting with them till 

 late in the night. Astounding in this connexion is Kluyver's indefat- 

 igableness. Whereas, by the time of the finish, the writer of a disser- 

 tation is visibly worn out, Kluyver remains cool and collected to the 



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