UNIVERSITIES, RESEARCH AND BRAIN WASTE 

 By J. C. Fields, Ph.D., F.R.S. 



To the Members of the Royal Canadian Institute 

 Ladies and Gentlemen: 



It is my desire first of all to thank you for the honour which you 

 have conferred on me by electing me your President for the year now 

 beginning. The two years past have been prosperous ones under the 

 Presidency of Dr. J. Murray Clark. Many new members have joined 

 and the attendance at the meetings has appreciably increased. The 

 Institute has carried on its propaganda for research both in regard to 

 its application to industry and on the purely scientific side. In its 

 campaign it has been aided by a succession of eminent lecturers from 

 the United States. The activities of the Institute wall continue to be 

 directed by the same policy as hitherto and I may say that arrange- 

 ments have been made for a group of exceptionally able men to lecture 

 under its auspices in Toronto during the coming winter. 



With your pei mission I shall now turn my attention to the con- 

 sideration of the subject which I have selected for my address this 

 evening — "Universities, Research and Brain Waste." 



Whatever the undeveloped resources of a country may be the greatest 

 of all its resources is the brain of the people and more especially the 

 brain of the exceptionally gifted. Other resources in fact are made 

 available only by combination with this primary resource. The wealth 

 of the race consists of the thoughts of a limited number of men accumu- 

 lated through the generations. By means of these thoughts, or certain 

 of them, we arc able to reproduce things. It takes no great mental 

 effort to realize that of all the material products of man's hands which 

 existed fifty years ago, that which persists to-day is negligible. 



There exists a body of men whose function it is to increase the 

 wealth of the race, to add new thoughts to the fund already accumulated. 

 These are the so-called research workers. Men of research inclination 

 there have been in all countries and in all periods. In recent times, 

 however, the number hac increased greatly. Certain universities in 

 America, and a large proportion of those in Europe, regard it as one of 

 their functions to prepare men to do research. Many of the European 

 universities regard it as their chief function. 



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