SCIENCE, ART, AND EDUCATION — GIBSON 203 



ultimate destiny of man depends on the promotion of stable and 

 healthy flow of current in the outer or "main" circuit. 



We live in an age when the current in the material circuit is flowing 

 with an amplitude unequaled in the history of the world. However, 

 few will contend that the oscillations in the moral loop are equally 

 strong and healthy. Indeed, it seems that our appreciation of and 

 respect for truth are becoming weaker as the twentieth century rolls 

 on. The two circuits are out of phase, the coupling is poor. To re- 

 turn to a figure of speech we have used a great deal in this paper, this 

 poor coupling means that our over-all patterns of human experience 

 are fragm.ented, inconsistent, and unsatisfying. The suggestion of 

 a remedy for this state of affairs is far beyond the scope of this paper. 

 We can only indicate that it constitutes the chief challenge to science, 

 art, and education for generations to come. It is the challenge to 

 separate the gold from the dross in human experience, to weave the 

 gold into satisfying and consistent patterns, and to display this tapes- 

 try before all mankind through clear-cut, simple, and direct communi- 

 cation so that all life on this earth may be enriched. Then the world 

 will realize more fully the truth spoken by the writer of Proverbs : 



Happy is the man that findeth wisdom aud the man that getteth 

 understanding. 



Reprints of the various articles in this Report may be obtained, as long as 

 the supply lasts, on request addressed to the Editorial and Publications 

 Division, Smithsonian Institution, Washington 25, D. C, 



