June 8, 1883.] 



SCIENCE. 



501 



FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1883. 



AN ILLUSTRATION OF AN ABUSE. 



After having taken special care in the se- 

 lection of daily papers for quiet reading, it is 

 disheartening to find one of the most con- 

 servative and elevated of these making use 

 of methods which are suggestive of the broad 

 prairie and the backwoods. It appears, how- 

 ever, from a recent example, that we cannot 

 feel quite safe in taking up even the dignified 

 New York evening post. In the issue of that 

 paper of May 15, there is a notice headed, 

 ' A Thrilling Government Report. ' A care- 

 ful examination of the matter shows that the 

 sole object of the heading and the notice is to 

 ridicule the report, or, at least, to create merri- 

 ment at its expense. This is a mode of pro- 

 cedure against which the present writes has 

 alread}' protested in an article entitled ' Science 

 and the newspapers,' and it seems desirable to 

 again call attention to the true nature of the 

 crime against science which is here involved. 



The objectionable notice begins thus : " The 

 United States geological survej' has just issued 

 its 'Bulletin No. 1,' on the popular subject, 

 ' On hypersthene-andesite, and on triclinic 

 P3-roxene in augitic rocks.' These are the 

 conclusions reached: 1. ' An apparently tj'pi- 

 cal augite-andesite from the Buffalo Peaks 

 is found to contain hyperstliene as its chief 

 pjToxenic constituent,' " etc. Other conclu- 

 sions drawn by the author, and, of course, 

 expressed in technical language, are then 

 quoted, and nothing further is said. The wit, 

 it will be seen, is verj- simple, depending upon 

 the heading above quoted, and the introduc- 

 tion of the word ' popular ' in the introduc- 

 tory sentence. To one who is constantly deal- 

 ing with scientific matters, or to one who is 

 tolerably familiar with such matters, even 

 though he may have a keen sense of humor, 

 there is nothing particularly funny in this. 

 But probabl}' it does appear funny to those 

 who are totally ignorant of science. Big 

 words are apt to seem funnj' to those who do 

 not understand them. One has riot far to go 



No. 18.— 1883. 



for fun of that kind. Almost any paper on a 

 special subject will furnish it. A mathemat- 

 ical paper, for example, is richer in material 

 for it than any other. It must be acknowl- 

 edged, however, that, if the simple quoting of 

 the language of a technical paper is wit, that 

 wit must be of a very low order. 



Leaving entireh' out of consideration the 

 character of the wit, the questions suggest 

 themselves whether the displaj- of such wit is 

 worth while, and whether the harm done by it 

 does not greatly over-balance the little good 

 that comes from it in the shape of fun. 



What we need as much as any thing else in 

 this country', is an increased appreciation of 

 the real value of scientific work. The ' we ' 

 is used in the broadest sense. "We as a na- 

 tion need it, and the influence of those in high 

 places should be exerted in such a way as to 

 develop this appreciation. The average man 

 has somehow got the idea that pure science 

 is of no value, and that there is something 

 absurd about the efforts of quiet investigators 

 who spend their lives in dealing with matters 

 which are of no ' practical ' importance. This 

 is a state of mind which is very common, and 

 it needs treatment. Now, the proper way to 

 treat it is not to encourage it, but to point 

 out, over and over again, its error. Ridicul- 

 ing scientific papers tends to encourage the 

 average man in his false notions, and to per- 

 petuate his benighted condition. 



The subject is one of more Importance than 

 may appear at first sight. Progress in the 

 greatest things is dependent upon attention to 

 the smallest things. If it is desired to im- 

 prove the state of the public mind in regard to 

 scientific matters, the greatest care should be 

 used in presenting these matters. Above all, 

 let us be extremelj^ cautious about sacrificing 

 science for the sake of humor. We, as a peo- 

 ple, are especiallj^ susceptible to the influence 

 of humor. It has been said with considerable 

 truth, that there is nothing about which an 

 American will not joke. Everj' one has known 

 cases in which this tendency to joking has led 

 to a pretty definite form of insanit}-, than 

 which there is nothing more hopeless. Now, 



