Jantjaby 12, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



51 



act it is yet quite as nearly correct as our 

 observed information requires.* 



R. S. Woodward. 



Columbia"Univeesity. 



( To he concluded. ) 



THE POSITION THAT UNIVERSITIES SHOULD 

 TAKE IN EEGAED TO INVESTIGATION.f 

 What position shall universities take 

 with regard to investigation? When the 

 honor was done me of asking me to take 

 part in this discussion, my first thought, 

 after the sensation of complacency at the 

 compliment, was that there could hardly be 

 a discussion where all held probably very 

 nearly the same views, and that the great 

 difi&culty would be to say anything that 

 would not be better said by another. Then 

 as I began to think more carefully, I saw 

 that the question was not, as I had at first 

 imagined it to be, " what shall universities 

 do to encourage those on their staffs to in- 

 vestigate ?" It is far wider than that. It 

 comprises a whole group of questions con- 

 cerning which there may be every shade of 

 opinion. So the more I thought, the more 

 I admired the wisdom the committee had 

 shown in their choice of a subject. Later 

 still, it dawned upon me that surely it is a 

 most satisfactory sign of progress that this 

 Society should meet to discuss such a sub- 



A^V+47v/ep = 0, 



dp = pd V, 



:^ = cp; 



dp 



where p, p, Fare the pressure, density, and potential 

 at any point of tbe mass, k is tlie gravitation con- 

 stant, and e is a constant securing the equality of the 

 members of the last equation. 



* With regard to what constitutes an adequate 

 theory in any ease, see an instructive paper by Dr. G. 

 Johnstone Stoney on ' The kinetic theory of gas, re- 

 garded as illustrating nature.' Proceedings' Royal 

 Dublin Society, Vol. VIII. (N. S.), Part IV., 

 No. 45. 



t Discussion before the American Society of Nat- 

 uralists at the New Haven Meeting, December 25, 

 1899 



ject, with the conviction that, though with- 

 out the shadow of a legal right to make 

 claims, we are, nevertheless, sure of a sym- 

 pathetic hearing from both universities and 

 the public. 



First of all let us consider the place of 

 investigation in education, as a means of 

 mental training, quite apart from any defi- 

 nite results. Surely this alone opens a 

 wide field for one afternoon's ramble, in 

 which there are diverging and recrossing 

 paths enough to furnish us the surpi-ises of 

 unexpected partings and unhoped-for re- 

 unions. 



I would here remark that perhaps some 

 confusion is possible from different interpre- 

 tations of the word ' investigation.' Ac- 

 cording to some it means simply practical 

 work, object teaching, or, better still, object 

 study. According to others it is the search 

 for something new. With regard to the 

 value of the former we are all pretty well 

 agreed. We do not need to be told what 

 an advance it is over the old way of learn- 

 ing the statements of others concerning 

 matters well within the sphere of observa- 

 tion. It may sometimes be carried too far, 

 but in view of its great usefulness we will 

 not quarrel with a little abuse. With what 

 is meant by the second interpretation the 

 case is different. Excepting some singu- 

 larly gifted natures, it does not, in my opin- 

 ion, concern the student. The universal or 

 even the very general application of this 

 method is the result of an extreme reaction. 

 It rests on a fallacy. Because investigation 

 is a good thing, and worthy of encourage- 

 ment, which all must admit, it is assumed 

 to be good for all, and an accepted method 

 of education, which conclusion I cannot 

 adopt. It is for the beginner to learn what 

 is woi'th learning in his particular field first 

 of all. It is not easy in these days to learn 

 all that is worth learning even in a very re- 

 stricted department. To start on investiga- 

 tion with this only half-learned is a direct 



