November 19, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



477 



ing to the fundamental laws of pliysics basic 

 to his subject. It is the difference between 

 the type of housewife who makes all pies in 

 California according to the rules used by her 

 grandmother in Maine, regardless of the char- 

 acter of the flour, or the kind of fruit; and 

 the other housewife who, according to the 

 materials involved and the end to be attained, 

 judges through experience and experiment the 

 combinations most acceptable. 



The average man of intelligence comes to 

 recognize in the course of his thinking that 

 he lives in a world which we understand only 

 imperfectly. At every turn he encounters the 

 limits of his own knowledge and of our total 

 accumulated store. In every kind of business 

 or occupation he moves among those con- 

 cerned with attack upon problems which are 

 new in the general as well as in the individual 

 sense. In some small part he is called upon 

 to help in the solving of these questions. He 

 is also expected to know how to secure in- 

 formation on problems which he needs to 

 solve. In a still larger way he must under- 

 stand the movement toward solution of eco- 

 nomic and governmental question, in order 

 that as a citizen he may exercise his privilege 

 of giving intelligent support to those whose 

 special work it is to investigate these matters 

 and to pass judgment upon them. 



It is a part of the duty of the average man 

 to know the difference between pernicious 

 questioning and constructive thinking; to 

 judge what things of the established order 

 should be left alone and which should now be 

 changed. He must be a conservative, stand- 

 ing for stability, and yet recognize the con- 

 stitutional evanescence of all things natural 

 and human, and stand for progressive move- 

 ments at critical times. 



The average man must learn to know and 

 value the contribution of the specialist or ex- 

 pert in constructive work, and call into his 

 service men representing fields other than his 

 own particular province. The habit of request- 

 ing properly organized investigation must be 

 developed and put into operation in directions 

 which show promise of leading to results of 

 importance to the community interests. 



The averag-e man will do his research 

 mainly in the field of application, rather than 

 in studies of fundamental principles, but he 

 will find the pleasures of constructive work 

 outweighing in realization all other types of 

 enjoyment. He will discover here a continu- 

 ing interest which leads on with undiminished 

 attraction and brings renewal of life stimulus. 



As opposed to the life of constructive type, 

 we may visualize the conservatism of habit 

 in those individuals who fit themselves into 

 the treadmill cycle of custom. Their indi- 

 viduality wears down to nothing, and they 

 become only cogs in a machine of which 

 neither the structure nor the purpose is seen. 

 On the other hand, the constructive life means 

 not alone continuous growth and unending 

 youth, but it offers as well the largest oppor- 

 tunity for enjoyment of service. It furnishes 

 the basis for that reaffirmation of individual- 

 ity which both in science and in human 

 sei^vice has been characterized as being bom 

 again. One who constructs and accomplishes 

 sees new life. Those who follow blindly and 

 without individual vision are sometimes known 

 as of the practical type, and not infrequently 

 pride themselves on refusing to accept the 

 new which may be good and perpetuating in 

 their life work the errors of their grand- 

 fathers, which the grandfathers would not 

 thus have carried on. 



Eesearch and advancement of knowledge 

 in the future depend not alone upon expres- 

 sions of individual genius, nor upon oppor- 

 tunity for concentrated investigation in lim- 

 ited fields. The intelligent use of results of 

 constructive work by the people as a whole, a 

 general understanding of the methods by 

 which this information has been obtained, 

 and a knowledge of the means necessary to 

 support research are also indispensable. 

 Great advances of the future are not depend- 

 ent upon having every man do everything as 

 an expert, but they will rest upon a wide 

 appreciation of the importance of constructive 

 thought, of organized knowledge, and of the 

 need for continuous advance of knowledge. 



Education will play a large part in the 

 support of research through giving, even in 



