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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLII. No. 1093 



work are freely provided. And yet we nnist 

 confess that the outcome, broadly speaking, 

 is somewhat disappointing, both here and in 

 other imiversities. It is true that the results 

 in some departments and in many individual 

 cases are satisfactory. On the whole, never- 

 theless, considering our great opportunities, 

 we seem to add relatively little to the sum 

 total of himian knowledge. Why? A recog- 

 nition of the obstacles to research might en- 

 able us in some measure to overcome them. 

 At any rate, the problem is worthy of our 

 earnest and careful consideration. 



Let us consider the problem from the bio- 

 logical point of view. The accomplishment of 

 every human being (as of all living things) is 

 the resultant of two factors : heredity and 

 environment. In research work, as in all 

 other lines of activity, the limits of possible 

 achievement for each individual depend upon 

 his innate talent, established through heredity. 

 Within these limits, however, the realization 

 of possibilities is conditioned by the environ- 

 ment. We must therefore distinguish clearly 

 between (possible) capability or capacity and 

 (actual) accomplishment in the field of orig- 

 inal investigation. 



The first and most important obstacle in re- 

 search work is accordingly the limitation of 

 capacity, which is determined by heredity. 

 Since it is now too late to quarrel with our 

 ancestors concerning the matter, as individ- 

 uals we may as well recognize this as an in- 

 surmountable obstacle. From the broad tmi- 

 versity point of view, this fundamental ob- 

 stacle may be partially removed by great care 

 in the selection of faculty members. Ge- 

 niuses are scarce, however, and competition for 

 them very strong; so it is inevitable that even 

 in the strongest universities the faculties must 

 be made up of men with varying degrees of 

 innate talent. 



But while our heredity is beyond our con- 

 trol, our environment is not. At least we can 

 modify the environment to a considerable 

 extent. And this is a fact of tremendous 

 practical importance. After all, environment 

 does play an important part in determining 

 both the quantity and the quality of our per- 



formance in all lines, including research work. 

 If the environment is sufficiently unfavorable, 

 even the highest genius is sterile. Of two men 

 with equal native ability, one with better oppor- 

 tunity may be far more richly productive than 

 the other. It is a case of seed and soil. The 

 result is determined by heredity plus environ- 

 ment; or perhaps better, heredity times envi- 

 ronment. 



Geniuses are sometimes able to accomplish, 

 a great deal, even in a relatively tmfavorable 

 environment ; but fortunately research work is 

 not a province reserved exclusively for genius. 

 It is encouraging to most of us to remember 

 that the army of investigation requires private 

 soldiers, as well as officers of various grades. 

 Even moderate capacity does not preclude re- 

 search work of real value. As expressed by 

 John Hunter: 



A man with a sufficient fund of knowledge, and 

 a close application to one art or science, will make 

 great improvements in it though his talents may 

 not be the best; or, in other words, though he be 

 not a great genius. 



Conquering the unknown in the field of 

 knowledge is somewhat like civilization in- 

 vading a new territory. A few bold and 

 talented explorers may lead the way and blaze 

 out new paths in the wilderness; but their ex- 

 ctu"sions would be fruitless unless followed up 

 by pioneer settlers, who by arduous labor 

 develop the country and render its resoiorces 

 available for mankind. Moreover, even the 

 explorer is in many ways largely dependent 

 upon the knowledge and equipment furnished 

 by others, his predecessors and his supporters. 



Likewise, in the exploration of the field of 

 knowledge, there is work for all. The history 

 of science abundantly proves that brilliant 

 discoveries and important generalizations 

 usually rest upon a long series of accurate ob- 

 servations, requiring care and patience, but 

 not great genius. A classical example is that 

 of Kepler's laws of planetary motion, foimded 

 upon the extensive astronomical observations 

 by Tycho Brahe. In biology, to substantiate 

 and support the cell-doctrine of Sehleiden and 

 Schwann, and the doctrine of organic evolu- 

 tion of Darwin, has required an immense 



