230 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XVI. No. 403 



cise, and accurate expression, and that as a matter of 

 fact the two are almost inseparable. The apparent suc- 

 cess before the people of the dilettante and the charlat^m, 

 has resulted, in the case of many good and able men, in a 

 positive aversion to popular approval. It should never be 

 forgotten that the judgment and taste of the public in mat- 

 ters relating to science are just as susceptible of cultivation 

 as in music and the fine arts, and that scientific men owe it 

 to themselves to see that opportunity for this culture is 

 not withheld. A just appreciation by the people of real 

 merit in art has resulted in the production of great painters, 

 sculptors, musicians, and composers, and there is every rea- 

 son to believe that the best interests of science would be fos- 

 tered by similar treatment. Even the great masters in sci- 

 •ence, then, can well afford to do what is in their power to 

 popularize their work and that of their colleagues, so that, 

 through closer relations with a more appreciative public, 

 their opportunities may be enlarged and their numbers in- 

 creased. 



Another error into which the man of science is liable to 

 fall is that of assuming superior wisdom as regards subjects 

 outside of his own specialty. It may seem a little hard to 

 accuse him of this, but nevertheless it is a mistake into 

 which he is easily and often unconsciously led. That this is 

 the day of specialization and specialists, every student of 

 science learns at the very threshold of his career; but that 

 one man can be expected to be good authority on not more 

 than one or two subjects, is not so generally understood by 

 the public. It thus frequently happens that the man of sci- 

 ence is consulted on all mattei-s of a scientific nature; and 

 he is induced to give opinions on subjects only remotely, if 

 at all, related to that branch of science in which he is justly 

 recognized as an authority. Although going well for a 

 time, these opinions often prove to be erroneous in the end, 

 resulting in a diminution of that confidence which the pub- 

 lic is, on the whole, inclined to place in the dictum of sci- 

 ence. 



Examples of this condition of things are by no means 

 •wanting, and they ai'e not confined, as might at first be as- 

 sumed, to the lower ranks of science. A distinguished bot- 

 amst is consulted and advises concerning the location of the 

 natural gas field, a mathematician advises a company in 

 which he is a stockholder in regard to the best locality for 

 boring for oil, and a celebrated biologist examines and 

 makes public report upon a much-talked-of invention in 

 which the principles of physics and engineering are alone 

 involved. 



In these and many other instances which might be related, 

 the motives of those concerned, at least on one side of the 

 transaction, cannot be questioned, but certainly their judg- 

 Tnent is open to criticism; and the outcome of it all is, that 

 the confidence of the people in scientific methods and results 

 is weakened. Fifty years ago or a hundred years ago there 

 •was good reason for much of this sort of thing. Specializa- 

 tion was neither as possible nor as necessary as now. The 

 sparseness of th« population of the country, the absence of 

 centres of learning and scientific research, the obstacles in 

 the way of easy and rapid communication between different 

 ^as-ts of th« country, — all these and other circumstances con- 

 tributed to the possibility of a Franklin, who wrote, and 

 wrote well, upon nearlyall subjects of human thought; whose 



advice was sought and given in matters relating to all de- 

 partments of science, literature, and art. Combining in an 

 extraordinary degree the power of profound research with a 

 singularly simple and clear style in composition, together 

 with a modesty which is nearly always characteristic of the 

 genuine student of nature, he wisely ventured further than 

 most men would dare to-day, in the range of topics concern" 

 ing which he spoke with aixthority. 



But at the present time and under existing conditions 

 there is little excuse for unsupported assumption of knowl- 

 edge by men of science, and, fortunately, the danger of hu- 

 miliating exposure is correspondingly great. The specialist 

 is everywhere within easy reach, and the expression of 

 opinions concerning things of which one knows but little is 

 equally prejudicial to the interests of science and society. 



The scientific man should also be at least reasonably free 

 from egotism in matters relating to his own specialty, and 

 particularly in reference to his own authority and attain- 

 ments therein. In controversy he has the advantage over 

 most disputants, in that he can usually call, to his support 

 an unerring and incontrovertible witness. A well-con- 

 ducted experiment or an exhaustive investigation, carried 

 out with scrupulous honesty, deservedly carries great weight ; 

 but it must not be forgotten that it does not, in a very great 

 degree, depend upon the personality of him who directs the 

 experiment or plans the investigation. One must not con- 

 found himself and his work, to the extent of assuming that 

 upon him ought to be bestowed the praise and admiration to 

 which his work is, perhaps, justly entitled. This blunder is 

 analogous to that of the mechanic in whom the first symp- 

 tom of insa,nity appeared as a conviction that he was as 

 strong as the engine which he had built, evidence of which 

 he unpleasantly thrust upon any who might deny the truth 

 of his assertion. " By your works shall ye be judged," may 

 be especially afiirmed of men of science not only as regards 

 the judgment of the public, but particularly that of their 

 colleagues and fellow-workers. Least of all should title, 

 degree, membership in learned societies, or the possession of 

 medals or other awards of distinction and honov, be paraded 

 unduly, or offered by himself, in evidence of his own fit- 

 ness. In general, these are honorable rewards, which are 

 justly prized by scientific men ; but some of them have been 

 so indiscriminately bestowed, and in some instances falsely 

 assumed, that the general public, not yet properly educated 

 in this direction, does not attach great value to them as an 

 index of real scientific merit. Where real merit actually 

 exists, nothing is usually gained, and much is likely to be 

 lost by boastful announcements of high standing or of accu- 

 mulated honor. A distinguished man of science, at the end 

 of a controversy into which he had been called as such, 

 complained that he had not been recognized as a fellow of 

 the Royal Society. "You gave us no reason to suspect your 

 membership," quietly but severely replied a man of the 

 world. 



As another element of weakness in the scientific man, I 

 venture to suggest that he is often less of a utilitarian than 

 he should be. This is a sin, if it be such, which seems es- 

 pecially attached to those who, unconsciously or otherwise, 

 are imitators of men of science of the highest type. The 

 latter are so entirely absorbed in profound investigation, and 

 their horizon is necessarily so limited by the very nature of 



