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SCIENCE 



[N. S. VoD. XL. No. 1037 



need to be controlled and directed, and this 

 constitutes an important part of education. 

 They are inherited, but are subject to marked 

 modification by environment. For instance, 

 the instinct of imitation is one of great po- 

 tency in shaping our conduct and in determin- 

 ing not only our own lives, but of those about 

 us. In this lies sufficient justification of state 

 education. One scientific farmer in a com- 

 munity enhances the value of all the farm- 

 ing land about him, because he demonstrates 

 the productivity of the soil. One honest, 

 learned lawyer reduces litigation and a skil- 

 ful physician not only alleviates the suffering 

 of the sick, but prevents the spread of dis- 

 ease. The highest purpose of this university 

 is to train leaders of men, those whose influ- 

 ence among their fellows may always be in 

 the right direction. 



Success will depend largely upon the en- 

 vironment under which you live while here. 

 This can not be wholly determined by the 

 university authorities. To a large extent you 

 will educate one another. 



A part of education consists in inhibiting 

 reflexes and suppressing misdirected instincts. 

 The only way in which this can be done is by 

 the cultivation and exercise of certain other 

 reflexes. As we shall see later, nervous im- 

 pulses travel most easily over well-worn path- 

 ways. A function frequently performed pro- 

 ceeds automatically and to the exclusion of 

 antagonistic tendencies. One of the most diffi- 

 cult things the untrained student has to con- 

 tend with is diffuse activity. He tries to 

 study, but outside stimuli of vision, hearing, 

 etc., bombard his sensorium and demand his 

 attention. Training is essential before calls 

 to purposeless activity can be ignored. 



The first impression which one receives in 

 studying the structure and function of the 

 nervous system is that it is a grossly defective 

 mechanism. The elements of which it is com- 

 posed consist of nerve cells with axons and 

 dendrites. The dendrites are supposed to re- 

 ceive the stimuli and the axons to conduct 

 them to the next unit. Between these units, 

 called neurones, there is no direct structural 

 connection. The axons of one unit come in 



more or less direct contact with the dendrites 

 of the next, but each neuron is organically 

 quite distinct from all others. The apparent 

 imperfection lies in this absence of direct 

 connection. The point of contact between two 

 neurons is known as a synapse and at this 

 point there is more or less resistance to the 

 transmission of the stimulus. This apparent 

 imperfection is, however, in some respects at 

 least, a benefit. Were it not for this delay the 

 brain would be stormed continuously by stim- 

 uli from the outer world and orderly thought 

 would be quite impossible. Without these ap- 

 parent imperfections, sleep would be less rest- 

 ful and anesthetics would not be able to re- 

 lieve pain. Education consists partly in im- 

 proving these connections. A pathway 

 through the nervous tissue having been once 

 opened is more easily followed by subsequent 

 similar stimuli. This renders possible the 

 formation of habits. The more frequently a 

 given pathway is traversed, the more easily 

 stimuli pass, until finally transmission occurs 

 without conscious effort. The first attempt to 

 learn is more or less laborious, but with each 

 repetition the resistance becomes less and 

 finally the thing is done automatically. Ef- 

 fectiveness is largely the result of the forma- 

 tion of good habits. In this way the expert is 

 developed. The best preparation for doing 

 anything is the fact that you have once or 

 of tener done it, and the more frequently it has 

 been done the more certainty is there in re- 

 peating it. The beginner in telegraphy must 

 give attention to each letter, then he thinks 

 only of words, and later he advances to 

 phrases and even to sentences. 



In learning of this kind, progress is not al- 

 ways uniform. After reaching a certain de- 

 gree of proficiency there is a period in which 

 there is no apparent progress. These periods 

 are known as plateaus. All students are fa- 

 miliar with these depressing states in which 

 effort seems without avail, but with persist- 

 ence the curve of learning suddenly begins to 

 rise and the elation of success is the reward. 



The question of the transference of skill ac- 

 quired in one branch of learning to another has 

 been debated among psychologists, but the 



