544 TECHNOLOGY 



may indicate only the science of man's makings and not the science 

 of man's doings. The scope of technology, even as thus defined, is, 

 perhaps, its most striking characteristic. 



The endless range of knowledge, opened up by an attempt to apply 

 even the known laws of nature to the limitless array of facts, is at 

 once apparent, even if we say nothing of facing the new problems 

 arising in the process. Our material is evidently the whole world, 

 with all the giant forces impelling it on its yearly circuit, lighting, 

 heating, and supporting its myriad forms of life and ruling their 

 motion and their rest. 



Where shall we find a guide in this complexity? How shall we 

 choose between necessary and unnecessary knowledge? In theory it 

 seems impossible to draw any line, and one never knows at what 

 moment a new department may become essential; but, in practice, v 

 this very possibility has suggested the course which has been followed, 

 namely, the attempt that has been made to gain a knowledge of those 

 laws which up to the present time have been adapted to practical 

 needs. As more of these laws are utilized they, too, will be incorpo- 

 rated, and the limitations of the human mind must then be pro- 

 vided for, in a greater degree than is the case at present, by a scheme 

 of options which will allow each individual to use as his material 

 mainly the special knowledge that he will require in the department 

 of technology chosen as his particular profession, and which will 

 compel him to know of the other departments only enough to fit this 

 into its right place in the general scheme. 



Such a system of options is, fortunately, feasible by reason of the 

 fact that the mental powers, trained to work scientifically in a given 

 direction, can afterwards be turned to other objects. At least this is 

 the case when the method of working is given the first importance, as 

 then only is it possible to form the scientific mind. 



If we examine the best modern schools of technology we find that 

 the curriculum contains departments founded on the conceptions 

 with which we have been dealing. We notice, 



First, a study of selected laws of nature (i. e., those which have 

 already been applied to practical purposes) ; 



(a) as seen in nature; 



(6) as seen in examples and descriptions of the means by which 

 they have been utilized. This corresponds to learning by experi- 

 ment, and includes especially the study of all types of machinery, 

 implements, and instruments. 



Secondly, a distinct aim to train the mind of the student in accord- 

 ance with the laws of the mind. 



This is not usually done theoretically, i. e., by any inquiry into the 

 laws of the mind, but practically, i. e., by causing the student to 

 learn some particular form of industrial art in a scientific manner. 



