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less theory. And, further, as we know of much doing that follows 

 inadequate thinking, so we see much practice that is the result of 

 insufficient theory. But as that doing which is preceded by the 

 greatest amount of thinking is most likely to be successful, so that 

 practice which is accompanied by the greatest amount of theory 

 will be most likely to attain the object it has in view, surely and 

 economically. 



From the definition which I have given of practice — as the 

 carrying out of an operation — it follows that a practical man is 

 one whose business is practice, that is, one who attends to the 

 doing, but has nothing whatever to do with the thinking which is 

 required in any operation. Yet the common usage of the phrase 

 "practical man" implies that he is one that both thinks and does, 

 who both plans and executes. But surely that is a mistake. For 

 we have seen that before a man can plan correctly he must be a 

 theorist, whereas we know very well that there are hundreds — nay 

 thousands — of so-called practical men who know very little about 

 theory. The really practical man, as that phrase is usually under- 

 stood, is one who knows both theory and practice ; who can think 

 as well as do, plan as well as execute. As correct thinking and 

 doing can never be antagonistic, so true theory and perfect practice 

 must ever be in harmony. Whence then the alleged discrepancy 

 between theory and practice'? Here, either from mistaking that 

 for a theory which is not a theory at all, or from the imperfection 

 of practice. With the former we have nothing to do, but in 

 reference to the latter we know that there has frequently been an 

 apparent discrepancy between theory and practice, owing to the 

 inability of practice to imitate at first trial the model that theory 

 has set before it. But when such a thing does occur, practice 

 should not hastily condemn theory, as it has too often done ; it 

 should rather remember that it is not itself pefect, and that there. 

 fore many improvements may be necessary in its methods before 

 it can attain that special one to which theory points. It should 

 not forget that but a few years ago the common operations of our 

 machine tools were reckoned unattainable. They were then 

 theoretical. They arc now illustrations of the advantage which 



