4'42 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LI. No. 1322 



entirely a relative term. The terms amnesia and 

 dissociation of the personality, wMch are so fre- 

 quently used in speaking of hysterieals, are mis- 

 leading. Each of them shouild mean that if a per- 

 Bon is occupied in one way, he is ordinarily not 

 doing other things or thinking in other ways at 

 that time. For example, only a few minutes ago 

 I was occupied in thinking afeout a certain demon- 

 stration that a katydid can exert a force of at 

 least thirty pounds with its ovipositor. While oc- 

 cupied in this way, I had complete amnesia for a 

 dog I once owned; and at the time that I was 

 thinking about my dog, I had complete amnesia for 

 the experiment with the insect. My dog and the 

 inseet established in me two "little" somnam- 

 f)ulisims; and I am never active in both ways at 

 J;he same time. Likewise, a typical hysterical re- 

 members his somnambulism only under the con- 

 dition that he manifests it again; and when he 

 the cases of typical hysteria which have come 

 under my observation, many of the somnambulisms 

 pianifests it he has amnesia for other things. In 

 or personalities were remarkably well associated. 

 This circumstance makes it easy to produce arti- 

 ficially any of the existing states; and it is also 

 responsible for the remarkable periodicity in the 

 manifestations, by certain patients, of their es- 

 tablished somnambulisms. 



Definitions of mind offered hy college students: 

 0. R. Griffith. The purpose of this investigation 

 was (a) to oibtain a definite expression of the na- 

 ture of the beliefs and prejudices about "mind" 

 which are held by common-sense, and (6), to point 

 out some of the antecedents of these notions. Defi.- 

 nitions of "mind" obtained in a naive manner 

 from students at the University of Illinois are 

 puggestive of the beliefs of popular opinion at 

 large, and indicate, as well, the degree in which 

 ithe laymen lags behind the trend of scientific 

 thought. A tabulation of the definitions under ap- 

 propriate categories discloses the fact that popular 

 lOpinion engages in little or no critical reflection 

 upon the matter. Conceptions of mind as a power, 

 force, energy, guide or faculty are frequent, as are 

 also conceptions confusing mind with the brain, the 

 nervous system, or some internal organ. Less fre- 

 quent notions make use of such terms as ' ' soul, ' ' 

 "spirit," "personality" or "storehouse." Most 

 of the definitions are, in fact, plainly reminiscent 

 of the days of magic and of worn-out philosophies 

 and discarded theories. Moreover, they represent 

 in an undisguised way the wishes and desires of the 

 men who value them. Over the whole is a thin sur- 



facing of modern science. The opinions, thus 

 formed, are garbled in the telling, and betray, for 

 the most part, a notable want in critical ability as 

 jweU as a lack of substantial knowledge. 



Organization of course of study in the elemen- 

 tary school: Helen T. Woollet. 

 , Contributions of experimental psychology to the 

 psychology of the elementary school branches : 0. T. 

 Gray. 



Safety -first education in school: M. J. Mayo. 

 The loss of life and property in the United States 

 through avoidable accident has become well nigh a 

 national reproach. There is a growing public senti- 

 ment against the continuance of this evil. Largely 

 through the influence of the National Safety Coun- 

 cil, industrial accidents have been materially re- 

 duced. This has been effected through two means : 

 (1) the appliance of safety devices to machinery 

 wherever possible; and (2) a campaign of safety 

 education among workmen. What are known as 

 public accidents, however, show no decline. In the 

 home and on the streets and higliways an increas- 

 ing number of serious and fatal accidents occur. 

 The toll among the school population is large. 

 The teaching of accident prevention is now ad- 

 mittedly a school problem. No other kind of edu- 

 cation can more completely justify itself. Public 

 safety can be promoted through two means: (1) 

 the elimination of all avoidable sources of danger; 

 and (2) adequate safety education. Safety edu- 

 cation consists of (1) a thorough knowledge of all 

 common danger situations, (2) correct "habits of 

 behavior in their presence, and (3) high ideals and 

 right attitudes in regard to safety. We must 

 teach definitely under what circumstances explos- 

 ives and poisons are dangerous, just how it is that 

 accidental burns and falls occur, juSt what our 

 habits of behavior on the streets should be. We 

 must act consistently and habitually in accord with 

 this knowledge. This behavior can be secured only 

 through high ideals of the value of human life and 

 limb and a positive attitude towards safety. Our 

 ideals must be dynamic in character. Only, for in- 

 stance, when we have created an active ideal among 

 the boys — a sort of public sentiment — ^that con- 

 demns riding on the rear end of street cars as a 

 piece of recklessness and stupidity, can this source 

 of fatal accident be eliminated. 



The distribution of grades in large lecture rooms : 

 C. R. Griffith. The distribution according to 

 seating arrangement of the grades of students reg- 

 istered in large lecture classes discloses a varia- 

 tion that can not be attributed to differences in 



