262 



NATURE 



[November 6, 1919 



RESEARCH AND ITS APPLICATION.^ 

 ID ESEARCH in the distant past was the privilege 

 -J-^ of the few. In chemistry, during the Middle 

 Ages, the alchemists were practically the only men 

 pursuing it, and they in secret, and not always from 

 the highest of motives. Working by themselves as they 

 did, they had not the great advantage of meeting and 

 discussing with others similarly engaged, and using 

 their progress and mistakes to intensify their own 

 increase in. knowledge. Thus it has come about that 

 the science of chemistry is little more than a century 

 old, and its tremendous- advances only a few decades. 

 As the foundation of all these advances research is 

 firmly embedded. Without it the structure could not 

 have arisen or the glowing anticipations of the future 

 been even imagined. Twenty centuries ago we were 

 told, "Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be 

 opened unto you." No one can deny that there have 

 been accidental discoveries, some of great moment; 

 but this has not been, and will not be, a safe depend- 

 ence. .'Vccidental discoveries are not to be relied on, 

 although they" are not to be scorned. In chemistry 

 the accidental good fortunes have usually come to 

 those who were really seeking, although possibly for 

 something far different; but, note this, they 'were 

 usually made by men qualified to recognise "an im- 

 portant discovery when it flashed across their \ision. 

 Research, of course, is not of necessity to lesult in 

 invention. It may in that respect terminate in a 

 cul-de-sac from which with present knowledge there 

 is no egress; or, what more frequently happens, it 

 may lead to a line of reasoning which in time leads 

 to another, and so on, until suddenly a bright light 

 illumines the way and a goal of the greatest import- 

 ance is attained. Many instances illustrative of this 

 could be mentioned. One only need here be cited, and 

 that because of the importance it has assumed in the 

 light of recent developments. 



-As early as 1882 men of science rigidly established 

 by chemical research what chemists call the " con- 

 stitution " of the blue vegetable dye indigo, and 

 clinched that scientific ■conclusion by preparing the 

 identical material in the laboratory. This particular 

 important addition to human knowledge has remained 

 a discovery merely, yet it so stimulated the search 

 for practicable methods of applying that discovcr^y to 

 human needs that voluminous researches in a number 

 of European countries were undertaken almost at 

 once for that purpose. It remained for a college 

 professor, working in quite a different field, to hit 

 upon the central idea of the successful indigo method 

 of 1897, and to clinch it by appropriate laboratory 

 methods. In 1901, however, one of the so-called 

 "inorganic" chemists, in searching for new worlds 

 to conquer, evolved an idea which he thought would 

 make one of the discarded and discredited methods of 

 making indigo a worthy rival of the only com- 

 mercially successful indigo method of that day. And 

 he was right ! The owners of the 1897 method were 

 forced to look to their laurels. 



The chemical knowledge and research that enter 

 into the synthetic production of indigo, as we know it 

 to-day, come from more than three generations of 

 chemists, scattered all over the globe, speaking many 

 languages, researching on many different and separate 

 problems which touch almost every phase of human 

 endeavour; and the end is not vet. 



True research must be intentional and intensive. 

 We must really seek if we would find. We must 

 really knock at the doors of the secret chambers of 

 knowledge if they are to be opened to us. We must 

 have imagination, it is true, but we must have more 

 than that. There must be the foundation of sound 



1 Abstract of an '>H'^^es^ delivered by the Preiidcnt nf (he American 

 Chemical Society, Dr. W. H. Nichols, at Philadelphia, September 4. 



NO. 2610, VOL. 104] 



education and the ability to extend it to embrace new 

 and unexpected knowledge, and apply this in its turn 

 as we progress upwards. 



The importance of research is being more and 

 more recognised and understood by the public. One 

 of the most encouraging evidences of this is shown 

 in the preamble and resolution adopted recently by 

 the American Federation of Labour at -Atlantic City 

 indicating as these do a clear appreciation bv that 

 great association of how much we all depend on 

 what science will disclose to ameliorate the conditions 

 of the future. 



But let our friends of the federation not be content 

 with what the Government can do in the line of their 

 resolution, good as it has been and will be. Let them 

 start a carefully planned series of researches them- 

 selves, and follow them up until the truth siands 

 revealed. Employers of labour have been doing this 

 for years. The shining goal of all research is the 

 truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 

 Thus, starting from different angles, with fairness 

 and thoroughness, the various so-called interests will 

 arrive at the same truth, for there can only be one 

 truth concerning any question. Thus will it come to 

 pass that capital and labour will discover that the true 

 interest of one is the true interest of all, and instead 

 of bickerings and suspicions we shall have that cordial 

 co-operation which is absolutely essential if we are 

 to get the best out of this world of ours. 



Scientific discovery is really not a haphazard 

 matter. The art of making it can be cultivated, and 

 definite rules of research can be laid down. Many 

 elements enter into the problem, and these have been 

 very well tabulated by the late Dr. G. Gore in his 

 book. "The Art of Scientific Discovery." He defines 

 the difference between discovery and invention as 

 follows : — " Discovery consists in finding new truths 

 of Nature, whilst invention consists in applying those 

 truths to some desired purpose"; and that' definition 

 is sufficiently accurate. Research does not always lead 

 to discovei-y or discovery to invention, but the sequence 

 is logical. 



The application of research has always required a 

 high order of talent. In the future a still higher order 

 of talent will be necessary, but in addition this taUnt 

 must be prepared by education to do this very thing. 

 How can we produce the leaders who shall adequately 

 combine both the scientific and the practical qualifica- 

 tions that are necessary? This is one of the greatest 

 and most interesting problems awaiting solution bv 

 our educators, and on its correct solution depends, in 

 a larger degree than many imagine, the future of 

 successful and contented industry in this country. 



The candidate for leadership should have a healthv 

 body, good habits (which involves good character), 

 and a good mind educated to the highest c'egree 

 attainable. This education should be specialised in 

 the desired direction, while good all round. He should 

 have a thorough knowledge of human nature. To 

 play on the "harp of a thousand strings" requires 

 an unusual acquaintance with the instrument. How 

 many men, otherwise great, have broken down here, 

 sometimes because they have given too much con- 

 fidence, sometimes not enough, sometimes because 

 the}' did not know how to select assistants. 



Let us proceed to fill our high places of every kind 

 with the men and women specifically prepared to fill 

 them, being assured that the effort to do so will 

 produce an army of those not quite qualified for the 

 top, but of the greatest value to assist those who are. 

 Let us educate for living, certainly ; but let us also 

 educate for leadership — that superlative leadership of 

 which civilisation will stand more and more in feed 

 as it increases in complexity and reaches higher and 

 higher planes. 



