i io THE LIMITATIONS OF SCIENCE 



energy and possesses a light vector. What right has he 

 to insinuate into our minds that a vacuum may contain 

 something and still be a vacuum? He does this by a 

 play on the word " energy," which he permits us to 

 think of in the ordinary sense as an attribute of matter 

 and at the same time states implicitly to be a distinct 

 entity. We are inclined to pass lightly over the second 

 statement because we tacitly think of a light vector as 

 a geometrical line; the substance of such a line is too 

 intangible to give a distinct shock to the reason. But 

 if we put this definition to a simple test, we easily see 

 how futile it is. Say to anyone, that a golf ball in its 

 flight is not a thing of rubber and paint but a complex 

 of energy; and, that this is true because the moving 

 golf ball has a motion vector and consequently changes 

 vacuous space into ether. How quickly such a state- 

 ment about a familiar action would be recognized as an 

 absurdity. I presume that the reason why we like to 

 indulge in these phantoms of the imagination is be- 

 cause we still hate to confess our ignorance. But it is 

 a pity that science thus lurks in the mists. 



We can easily follow modern hypothesis as it pro- 

 gresses into transcendental symbolism. Sir Joseph 

 Larmor and Professor Lorentz wish to define elec- 

 tricity so that it may be measured. They adopt the 

 hypothetical method to a limited degree. Thus, they 

 each postulate the atom of matter. They next assume 

 each atom to consist of a multitude of positively and 



