MODERN SCIENCE 7 



During the unprecedented scientific development of 

 the past half century, there have frequently arisen cer- 

 tain tendencies on the part of men of science which have 

 caused many non-scientific persons to misunderstand 

 the real nature of scientific truth. A scientific discov- 

 ery is usually much involved in scientific terminology 

 and is complicated by its intellectual associations with 

 a field of special facts and theories. The public usually 

 does not understand the terminology or the related 

 facts and theories as does the scientific worker. Hence 

 the public cannot fully comprehend the discovery or 

 new line of thought. It is extremely difficult for the 

 worker to explain, since his field and even his vocabu- 

 lary are not sufficiently sensed to provide a common 

 basis of understanding. So the worker in science too 

 often belittles the "common man's" ability to under- 

 stand and too often makes no effort to inform him. 

 He does, however, more or less inconsistently expect 

 the "common man" to accept his conclusions in so far 

 as these scientific conclusions touch the fields in which 

 this "common man" operates. The man who knows 

 sometimes becomes intolerant toward the man who 

 does not know, quite as the uninformed man becomes 

 intolerant of the man who knows. Most men, most of 

 the time at least, desire to do what is right, and will 

 oppose or support an idea because their conclusions, or 

 their prejudices which they think are their conclusions, 

 seem right to them. The intolerance of scientific men 

 toward a public which is more or less uninformed about 

 science may easily become quite as objectionable in- 

 tellectually, and perhaps as dangerous socially, as the 



