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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVI. No. 916 



mediations in the future, it behooves us all 

 to see to it that we foster such investigators 

 — the most valuable of our natural re- 

 sources. Perhaps it occurs to some of you 

 that you have seen one well-known type of 

 the man I here commend. Let me recall 

 him to you. 



An elderly gentleman with an unprogres- 

 sive costume and unsteady gait, who gen- 

 erally fails to recognize his friends upon 

 the street and requires several seconds to 

 accomplish the recall when spoken to. 

 Such is the mildly humorous picture witu 

 which all are familiar. It is often correct 

 so far as it goes— only it is a bit incomplete. 



One should add that this man is working 

 with his head, a fact which accounts for 

 almost everything and leaves us pondering 

 why this symptom complex so readily ex- 

 cites remark. 



Connected with the conduct of research 

 in these foundations are several other prob- 

 lems of more than passing interest. The 

 fear is sometimes voiced that in the absence 

 of students, those at work will lack an im- 

 portant stimulus and suffer deterioration. 



The danger varies with the man. In- 

 stances are known where men have failed 

 to feel the attraction of institute oppor- 

 tunities, because they feared the loss of 

 this companionship. 



On the other hand, we have the attitude 

 represented by the German university pro- 

 fessor who is said to have remarked at the 

 opening of the fall semester, "Now comes 

 this disagreeable interruption of my work. ' ' 

 Doubtless he was a wicked old dyspeptic, 

 but for a moment he rose beyond himself 

 and spoke for his burden-bearing caste. 



Let me beg not to be misunderstood. I 

 would not for a moment be thought to 

 maintain more than the simple thesis that 

 while teaching is a genuine stimulant to 

 some, it is certainly a depressant to others 

 and especially a depressant to those who are 



disturbed by interruption, so that some can 

 drop it without damage to themselves. 



In compensation it may be urged that 

 the effect of the investigator's methods and 

 personality is felt by those with whom he 

 is usually surrounded, his colleagues and 

 assistants, and when so surrounded he is in 

 no more danger of isolation than a man in 

 the university. However, that is not say- 

 ing very much, for isolation among col- 

 leagues even in universities is a condition 

 which we not only lament, but should also 

 seek to change. It is an ancient tale. 



The investigators of four centuries ago 

 were chary of talking of their results and 

 these were often published posthumously, 

 as the authors preferred to die without as- 

 sistance — or the new discoveries were some- 

 times couched in cryptic writings as though 

 the author felt that what had given him 

 such years of labor to find out should at 

 least be hard for others to attain. That 

 feeling is sometimes foimd to-day. 



Once I remarked to a student, "Your 

 thesis is three times too long." "Yes," he 

 replied, "but if I did not make it long, how 

 would any one know it had taken me two 

 years to do the work." We can replace 

 this by a better thought. The opportunity 

 to satisfy one's longing for research is a 

 noble privilege, but it brings its obligations. 

 The advances thus made should be re- 

 turned as rapidly as possible to the fund 

 of common knowledge, and made accessible 

 to the community at large. 



This is essential for the progress of 

 the plan, for most surely is the advanced 

 worker dependent on his colleagues as they 

 on him, and ultimately too he is in a larger 

 sense also dependent on the community 

 aboiit him; so for both these reasons coop- 

 eration of the most complete sort is needful 

 for the common good. 



Expression has been given to the fear 

 that the great resources of our research 



