356 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI, No. 1448 



Can the patkfinders of the intellect conduct 

 their inquiries as if organized in a team for a 

 relay race, each individual carrying the torch 

 of light from the point reached by his prede- 

 cessor? Such a procedure would prevent repe- 

 tition. But unfortunately the problem before 

 us is too complex to admit of such simple solu- 

 tion. The impracticability of the relay plan is 

 evident from the consideration that when A 

 has announced some startling novelty, not only 

 B, but also C, D and E may take up the further 

 pursuit of the subject. And it is indeed well 

 that it should be so, for not every B, C, D and 

 E may be fortunate to travel in the right direc- 

 tion and reach desired results. The probability 

 of further penetration into . the unknown is 

 increased when several able minds are at work 

 simultaneously, rather than one alone. More- 

 over, several workers may expect to obtain a 

 greater volume of new knowledge. Under 

 these circumstances some duplication is quite 

 certain and can not be avoided. But when a 

 goal has been reached by one or more men, 

 there should be an effective system of distribu- 

 tion of this knowledge that will stop all unnec- 

 essary intellectual endeavor. 



In the prevention of waste the capitalist can 

 play a leading role. A sei-ious difficulty en- 

 oonntered in the United States at the present 

 time is the lack of funds for prompt publica- 

 tion. In mathematics, for example, no new 

 books in advanced fields have been issued in 

 this country in recent years. Several manu- 

 scripts are awaiting publication. Moreover, 

 the American periodicals devoted to research 

 articles are financially unable to print articles 

 except after long delay. Terminal stations for 

 the distribution of scientific products are 

 greatly congested. Moreover, there is a crying 

 need for efficient and prompt bibliography and 

 abstracts of scientific output. It is here that 

 the sympathetic capitalist can contribute to the 

 advancement of science almost as much as he 

 could, were he himself one of the foremost 

 research workers. He can contribute to a very 

 essential phase of scientific progress, namely, 

 the prompt distribution of new knowledge and 

 the prevention of avoidable waste of effort. 

 Essential agencies in the dissemination of 

 knowledge are abstracts and bibliographies. 



Except in chemistry and medicine, the United 

 States has been derelict in the discharge of its 

 share of obligation in this regard. The Great 

 War has disarranged what was being accom- 

 plished in Europe and the present interna- 

 tional situation is much worse than that of 

 eight years ago. 



The need of the hour is not only adequate 

 funds for printing, but also new, more instan- 

 taneous and effective methods of distribution. 

 Some advance is desired which will accomplish 

 for the twentieth century what the invention of 

 printing achieved for the fifteenth century and 

 photography for the nineteenth century. 

 Scientific discovery should take up as one of 

 its problems its own more efficient progress. 

 Science should bend its efforts to devise new 

 plans to accelerate its own rate of advance- 

 ment. Is it not possible for progress to be 

 made on the compound interest or the snow- 

 ball mode of accretion? The printing press 

 will not be superseded, but it should be sup- 

 plemented by new agencies. The possibilities 

 of the radiophone seem almost unlimited. It 

 can be made to do wbat it is not yet doing. 

 When John Smith has a new result, it lies 

 theoretically within his power to transmit it 

 instantaneously to his co-workers all over the 

 world. And if such were done, the largest 

 part of the waste of mental effort could be 

 avoided. At present this method lends itself 

 more readily to some fields of science than to 

 others. As yet, it is difficult to see how the 

 "radio" could be effectively used in diffusing 

 advanced mathematics that is expressed, per- 

 haps, in the notation of differential equations 

 or in the Peano symbolism. "Radio" appeals, 

 not to the eye, but to the ear. Moreover, it 

 transmits a message that is not permanent, but 

 vanishes as quick as wink. But, probably even 

 in abstruse mathematics, modes of quick and 

 permanent communication by wireless telegra- 

 phy will be found to lie within the range of 

 practicability. 



The instantaneous distribution of intelli- 

 gence in the form of a permanent record will 

 remove all avoidable waste of scientific effort. 

 Florian Cajori 



University of California 



