SCIENCE 



FEroAT, Decembee 5, 1913 



CONTENTS 



The Human Worth of Mgorous Thinking: 

 Peopessor Cassius J. Keysee 789 



Chemistry as affecting the Profitableness of 

 Industry: Dr. G. W. Thompson 800 



The International Conference on the Structure 

 of Matter: Professor E. Rutherford .... 806 



The Geological Society of America 807 



The Society of American Bacteriologists .... 808 



The Atlanta Meeting of the American Asocia- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science .... 808 



Scientific Notes and News 811 



University and Educational News 815 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 



A Proposed He-arrangement of Sections for 

 The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: Boland M. Harper 815 



Scientific Boohs: — 



The National Antarctic Expedition: Gen- 

 eral A. W. Greelt. The Belgian Antarctic 

 Expedition: Dr. W. H. Dall. Aiderhalden 

 on Abwehrfermente des tierischen Organis- 

 mus: John Ader. Moore on Bovine Tuber- 

 culosis and its Control: Professor Mazyck 

 P. Ravenel. Catalogue of Lepidoptera 

 Phalcenee : Dk. Harrison G. Dyar 818 



Special Articles: — 

 Some Effects of the Drought upon Vegeta- 

 tion: Professoe Raymond J. Pool. An An- 

 cestral Lisard from the Permian of Texas: 

 Professor S. W. Williston 822 



Convention of Geologists and Mining Engi- 

 neers 826 



M9S. intendea for publication and books, etc., intended for 

 review should be sent to Professor J. McKeen Cattell, Ga 

 on-HudsOD. N. Y. 



TEE HUMAN WOETB OF MIGOROUS 

 TSINKINGi 



But in the strong recess of Harmony, 



Established firm abides the rounded Sphere. 



— Empedoclea. 



Among the agencies that ameliorate life, 

 what is the role of rigorous thinking ? What 

 is the role of the spirit that aspires always 

 to logical righteousness, seeking "to frame 

 a world according to a rule of divine per- 

 fection ' ' ? 



Evidently that question is not one for 

 adequate handling in an hour's address by 

 an ordinary student of mathematics. 

 Rather is it a subject for a long series of 

 lectures by a learned professor of the his- 

 tory of civilization. Indeed so vast is the 

 subject that even an ordinary student of 

 mathematics can detect some of the more 

 obvious tasks such a philosophic historian 

 would have to perform and a few of the 

 difficulties he would doubtless encounter. 

 It may be worth while to mention some of 

 them. 



Certainly one of the tasks, and probably 

 one of the difficulties also, would be that of 

 securing an audience — an audience, I mean, 

 capable of understanding the lectures, for 

 is not a genuine auditor a listener who 

 understands? To understand the lectures 

 it would seem to be necessary to know what 

 that is which the lectures are about — that 

 is, it would be necessary to know what is 

 meant by rigorous thinking. To know this, 

 however, one must either have consciously 

 done some rigorous thinking or else, at the 

 very least, have examined some specimens 



1 An address delivered before the Mathematical 

 Colloquium of Columbia University, October 13, 

 1913. 



