vi. Proceedings. [November 16th, 1920. 



General Meeting, November 16th, 1920. 

 Sir Henry A. Miers, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S. (President), in the 



Chair. 

 Mr. Humphrey John Denham, M.A. (Oxon.). Research Botanist, c/o 

 The British Cotton Industry Besearch Association, Shirley Institute, 

 East Didsbury, Manchester; Mr. William Harrison, M.Sc. Tech. 

 (Mane), M.Sc. (Leeds), F.I.C., Research Manager, Messrs. Burgess, 

 Ledward & Co., Limited, Beechivood > Walkden Boad, Worsley, near 

 Manchester; Mrs. R. H. Clayton, 1, Park field Boad, Didsbury, 

 Manchester ; Dr. Charles W. Sotjtar, M.A., Research Chemist, 

 The British Alizarine Co., Ltd., 69 } Bus sell Boad, WhaMey Bange, 

 Manchester; and Mr. Frederick William Black (Junr.), B.A. (Oxon.), 

 c/o The British Petroleum Company, 9, Trevelyan Street, Eccles, 

 Manchester; were elected Ordinary Members of the Society. 



Ordinary Meeting, November i6th, 1920. 

 Sir Henry A. Miers, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S. (President), in the 



Chair. 



Mr. William Thomson, F.R.S. B., F.C.S., F.I.C., gave a short 

 demonstration on light produced by rubbing two pieces of fused 

 silica together, and referred to the peculiar smell then emitted. 



Mr. A. E. Heath, M.A., read a paper entitled " The dis- 

 interested character of Science in view of certain of its 

 working maxims," 



The object of this paper was to show that Mach's " principle 

 of econonry " and Occam's " principle of parsimony " are 

 not — as would appear on the surface — contradictory. It was 

 contended that the sciences are synthetic ; and consist in the 

 setting up of conceptual constructions for the complete descrip- 

 tion of the fields of primary fact in each science. When alter- 

 native conceptual constructions are possible Mach's principle 

 is used to decide between the alternatives. But the constant 

 reference back to the field of primary fact removes from its use 

 any menace to the disinterested character of science. Occam's 

 principle, however, is a maxim only applicable to a process 

 opposite in direction to the synthetic advance of the sciences : 

 namely, the analysis of the field of primary fact itself. It is 

 therefore not contradictor but complementary to the principle 

 of economy. 



General Meeting, November 30th, 1920. 

 Sir Henry A. Miers, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S. (President), in the 



Chair. 



Mr. Robert O. Boswall, B.Sc. (Lond.), A.M.I.Mech.K, A.F.R.Ae.S., 

 Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, The College of Teclinology, 

 Manchester; was elected an Ordinary Member of the Society. 



