Science in Public Affairs 



every young scientist to become an "authority." 

 In the many graduated stages towards this con- 

 summation there is one of special significance. If 

 the young observer steadily continues his observa- 

 tions and interpretations, and faithfully compares 

 his results with the records of science, he will find 

 that he steadily progresses towards a climax. He 

 will some day catch a moment or a mood, a phrase 

 or a happening, in the fleeting movement of things, 

 which will thrill him with an emotion intenser 

 than any he has before experienced. He will 

 instinctively feel that one of the secrets of the 

 universe has been revealed to him and to him 

 alone. Under the mysterious glow of an unfor- 

 getable enthusiasm he will feel his personality 

 expand, until the self of his ego meets and touches 

 in a sublime union the self of the world. In other 

 words, he has been initiated into the fraternity of 

 science, and for the first time he is, and feels him- 

 self to be, no longer a mere novice, but a full 

 brother of the community. 



It is clear we are here in the presence of a 

 psychological phenomenon known in another walk 

 of life as Conversion. In science it is known as 

 the discovery of new truth. It may be a truth 

 which is of the most trifling importance in relation 

 to the total body of ordered knowledge which we 

 call science. But the event is, in the life history 

 of the individual scientist, one of most profound 

 significance. It is, if not a turning-point in his 

 career, yet an experience which will not be without 

 its effect upon his whole future life. As is the way 



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