28 SCIENCE REMAKING THE WORLD 



before they see the advantages, while in regard to the 

 things to which they are accustomed they ignore the 

 faults and value the virtues. 



THE GREATEST INVENTIONS. Macaulay says: "Of 

 all inventions, the alphabet and printing press alone 

 excepted, those that have shortened distance have done 

 the most for humanity." Then gasolene, which has 

 given man a higher speed than he ever attained before, 

 must rank among the most beneficial of human in- 

 ventions. It has enabled man to travel in one hour 180 

 miles in an automobile and 220 miles in an airplane, 

 and to rise to a height of 41,000 feet in the air, 2,000 

 feet higher than Mount Everest, which British explorers 

 have been trying vainly to ascend. 



Such records, though they may gratify man's am- 

 bition, do not benefit his life. The real advantages of 

 rapid transit are that it gives him greater power to 

 overcome the limitations of nature and lengthens his 

 life as measured by his activities. For practical pur- 

 poses distances are measured by the watch, not by the 

 map. "Twenty minutes from Times Square" means 

 something definite, if true. "Ten miles from Times 

 Square" means nothing, for it varies widely according 

 to direction. 



The dimensions of cities, counties, states, and na- 

 tions depend upon the rapidity of communication. 

 The faster our vehicles the larger may be our political 

 divisions. The smallest territorial unit of our country 

 used to be the school district, which was measured by 

 the length of the legs of the littlest children. This vir- 

 tually ceases to have significance when the school 'bus 



