April 7, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



485 



requisition the problems of mechanics, the 

 characteristics and uses of materials and 

 their correct application to the building of 

 actual structures, the laws of kinematics 

 and the processes of designing and using 

 machinery, the special principles of hydrau- 

 lics and thermodynamics and the manner 

 in which they enter into the design, con- 

 struction and operation of machines, and 

 the manner in which they affect the useful- 

 ness of machines and the efficiencies of vari- 

 ous industries; and it brings into associa- 

 tion with all these the specific principles of 

 electricity and magnetism and the ways in 

 which these principles may be used in prac- 

 tise. 



It is only with such definitions of the field 

 of electrical engineering and the scope of 

 engineering education in mind that one can 

 truly approach a discussion of "methods" 

 of teaching electrical engineering. Lack- 

 ing such definitions, the whole connotative 

 picture is vague, indefinite, and lacking in 

 guide posts. Given such definitions, the 

 problem obtains definiteness and reasonable 

 precision. The word method then may be 

 applied. These definitions or ideals are 

 therefore fundamental to this address. 

 With them as guides the word "method" 

 has a meaning and leads directly to the 

 proposition that electrical engineering in- 

 struction must be bilateral in character, 

 dealing first with processes of direct logic 

 applied in mathematical forms to the solu- 

 tion of problems, and second with processes 

 of reasoning by balance of evidence such 

 as are characteristic of the discussion of 

 economic principles or historical sequences. 

 These two processes of reasoning hold 

 nearly equal importance in electrical engi- 

 neering, in which respect this branch of 

 engineering differs widely from, for in- 

 stance, mechanical engineering, in which a 

 great part of the mental processes of its 

 practitioners must be by balance of evi- 



dence because the problems are commonly 

 of a complexity which has not yet yielded to 

 methods of rational analysis, thus leaving 

 empirical methods the only resort. Thus, 

 the design of a cast-iron bed for a great 

 engine lathe deals with a material of un- 

 homogeneous character which is put under 

 tension, compression and shear, in a phys- 

 ical shape for which the stresses do not 

 yield directly to mathematical analysis on 

 account of the complexity of the form which 

 is imposed by the requirements of conveni- 

 ence in operating the complete machine. In 

 contrast to this, most of the engineering 

 problems which relate purely to electricity 

 and magnetism partake of the character of 

 problems of hydrodynamics and yield di- 

 rectly to rational processes of analysis, i. e., 

 to assaidt by direct logic. In electrical 

 engineering teaching, it is largely the eco- 

 nomic aspects of the problems, or the prob- 

 lems coming in from the collateral branches 

 of engineering on account of the intimacy 

 with which the electrical engineer must deal 

 with the numerous branches of mechanical 

 industry, which call for empirical methods 

 and reasoning by balance of evidence. 

 These are important, and therefore the 

 methods of teaching in electrical engineer- 

 ing must be bilateral, as already said, first 

 to give the student power in direct reason- 

 ing and in designing by so-called "ra- 

 tional" processes, and second to give him 

 power in reasoning by balance of evidence 

 and in designing by so-called "empirical" 

 processes. Along with this goes hand in 

 hand instruction of the student in nature's 

 laws and their relations to each other, and 

 instruction in the applications of the meth- 

 ods of reasoning to minor but none the less 

 truly engineering problems. The labora- 

 tory is a living force in such instruction, 

 and in it the student must be substantially 

 thrown on his own resources to execute the 

 tests or investigations assigned to him, or 



