2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND. 
— 
Fortitude Valley, and head teacher at Aramac, Emu Vale, 
Ashgrove, Kangaroo Point, Bundaberg, and Townsville. 
He became a district inspector in January, 1914, and 
continued his work in that capacity till his death iast 
September. 
Professor Potuock was appointed to the Chair of 
Physies in the University of Sydney in 1899. He did not 
confine his energies to his own department or his own 
University, but was always willing to bear his share of the 
general scientific work of Australia. He was a Fellow of 
the Royal Society of London, and an ex-President of the 
Royal Society of New South Wales and of Section A of the 
Australasian Association. Many of us who worked with 
him at the meetings of tie Association will always remember 
vith gratitude the encouragement which he gave to those 
younger ahd less experienced inan himself. During the 
war Professor Pollock did valuable work at the Front in 
connection with practical applications of the theory of 
sound. . 
ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTIFIC 
PAHOMUGE TE: 
During a visit to England some ‘hree years ago it was 
my privilege to dine with one of the most distinguished 
living mathematicians. In the course of conversation we 
discussed the published proceedings of a celebrated mathe- 
matical society, and my host said, ““What I object to in 
that publication is tha: only once in six months does it 
contain a paper that a man can understand.’’ This remark 
emphasizes a great difficulty and a great danger in modern 
scientific work. Recent advances have been so varied and 
so rapid that no man can keep in touch with all develop- 
ments, even in one branch of science alone. We are 
compelled to specialize and our sphere of work is confined 
to a comparatively small region of one of the main subdivi- 
sions of science. It is sometimes advisable, however, to 
turn from the cultivation of our owii small fields and look 
out over the landscape as a whole. Accordingly I propose 
to-night to direct your attention to some points in the past 
history of scientific thought and to a danger which appears 
to underlie some of the modern work. 
It is frequently asserted that Greek Science was based 
on metaphysical calculations unchecked by experiment or 
