The World Without Science

The World Without Science By Dr. F. S. Harris, Director Utah Agricultural Experiment Station As people move about in the world performing their several tasks, with the aid of numerous mechanical devices and sur- rounded by many conveniences and luxuries, they are prone to look upon these conditions as having always existed, when in reality the last century has seen more progress in scientific dis- covery than have all the previous centuries of human history. It is only necessary to compare conditions in the days of our great grandfathers with those today to realize how very rapid has been the change. The debt that mankind owes to science is made clear, on comparing the possibilities of a civilization in the absence of science with one assisted by the powerful agen- cies of modern research. It has been the practice of a certain class of persons to undermine the teachings of science, thinking that they were thereby staying the ravages of some hideous monster and ren- dering a service to mankind. Thanks to the gradual spread of learning, persons of that class are rapidly being replaced by those who see in science nothing to be feared but something to be fostered and developed. People are finding that the sole aim of science is the discovery of truth, and that no amount of suppression will prevent truth from eventually being discovered. That scientific workers often draw erroneous conclusions from available facts no one can deny; but that they should be hin- dered in the pursuit of their investigations because of a few mistakes would be to deny them the charity that is extended in every other endeavor of mankind. Science, unlike religion, has had to develop very slowly. In religion, the revealed word has always been a guide and has pointed the way; in science, every step has required long and tedious work. It required ages for man to learn how to draw on nature for her hidden secrets. Old habits of thinking had to be discarded and new methods of work devised before note- worthy results could be obtained; but with these difficulties overcome advancement was rapid. Going back to the very dawn of history we find the Egyp- tians possessed of considerable knowledge of the stars and the seasons. They also understood the properties of the triangle *Presidential address, delivered before the Utah Academy of Sciences, Salt Lake City, April 6, 1917.

THE WORLD WITHOUT SCIENCE 695 and used this knowledge in resurveying the land that was flooded each year by the Nile. There was no real development in science, however, till the Greeks began their rather systematic observations of nature. Aristotle (384-322 B. C.) and his student Theophrastus recorded many accurate observations from their studies of animals, plants, and rocks; but all the science of the Greeks was so intermixed with speculation and philosophizing that a great deal of error crept in. At that time the methods of modern science were entirely unknown, but the scope of the work was so broad that practically all the sciences now trace their origin to the time of Aristotle. Later, Alexandria became the center of the Greek world; here all the learning of the time was centered. Euclid, Hip- parchus, and others collected data on astronomy, geometry, trigonometry, optics, heat, and even anatomy. The greatest work during this time was done at Syracuse by Archimedes (287 B. C.) who created the science of statics. The Romans did little for science. Pliny (23-79 A. D.) col- lected all the writings of those who had gone before, but he con- tributed nothing new. His compilation, however, did much to preserve the information that had been discovered by earlier scholars. During the middle ages practically nothing was done in science. The people were so completely bound to authority that original studies were almost unknown. Aristotle was the uni- versal authority on all branches of science. The story is told of a heated discussion arising over the number of teeth in the horse's mouth. All the authorities were searched and ponderous writings submitted on this question that could have been so easily settled by simple observation. The whole attitude of mind led to a study of authorities who had written on nature rather than to a study of nature itself. Science in the middle ages was fostered chiefly by the Arabs who believed in the pseudo-sciences of astrology and alchemy, but they did much to advance algebra and some of the sciences. By the end of the fourteenth century astrology reached the sum- mit of its popularity. At this time everything that happened on the earth was attributed to the condition and position of the stars. Disease, weather, crop growth, and even personal fortune or misfortune were thought to be profoundly, if not completely, dependent on heavenly bodies. Man was in no sense thought to be master; he was considered to be merely a victim of the stars. Tradition, belief in authority, and superstitions of the false sciences of astrology and alchemy long and successfully resisted the advance of knowledge. Time-honored ideas, nevertheless, received a rude shock at the hands of Copernicus (1473), and by

696 IMPROVEMENT ERA 1600, when Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake, the germ of original investigation had been planted. In the next century perhaps the greatest revolution in thought that has occurred in all history swept the western world. To this many factors con- tributed: the genius of a few great men like Newton, Galileo, Harvey, Kepler, Descartes, Bacon, and Leibnitz; the invention of the telescope and the compound microscope; and the general awakening of thought by the Renaissance. Before Galileo only two modern men of science are con- spicuous: Copernicus, who studied the movements of heavenly bodies, and Vesalius (1514-1564) who overthrew the authority of Galen and studied at first hand the organization of the human body. Not until the seventeenth century did modern science gain a secure footing. In 1628 William Harvey, by adding ex- periment to observation, demonstrated the circulation of the blood and created a new physiology, and in 1687 Newton pub- lished his Principia which established the science of mechanics. These two contributions were so revolutionary that the earlier ideas of physical and biological science were almost completely upset; and through them a foundation was laid on which the structure of modern science could be reared. In the eighteenth century the development of chemistry by Lavoisier aided by Scheele, Priestly, and others gave to scien- tists a new and powerful instrument for solving many of the mysteries of nature. In the early part of the nineteenth century there was almost a complete change in science. The old idea of the spontaneous origin of life was given up; the methods by which plants and animals feed and grow were discovered. Sci- ence was subdivided with specialists working on each of its branches. Then followed a popular interest in science which resulted in the contribution of very much larger sums for research than could previously be obtained. Before this time the scientist was considered to be out of harmony with the rest of mankind; he was forced to carry on most of his investigations secretly. As the century advanced science gradually won a hearing. At first it was grudgingly tolerated; later its more conservative teach- ings were made a part of ordinary schooling, and toward the close of the century it was given a place of equal rank with classical subjects in the college curriculum. Since the middle of the century the practical service of science to mankind has gradually become so well known that today scientific research is considered to be as much a part of governmental duty as any branch of the public service. The wisdom of diverting public funds and private endow- ments to scientific research and instruction will be more fully appreciated by a review of some of the contributions of science

THE WORLD WITHOUT SCIENCE 697 to transportation, communication, medicine, manufacturing, agriculture, household economy, and other branches of human activity. Probably in no practical phase of man's life have the dis- coveries of science yielded more far-reaching results than in transportation. It is only necessary to compare the old sailing vessel, the horse car, and the stage coach with the modern steam ship, the electric trolley, the steam-driven train, the automobile, and the flying machine, to realize what the discoveries that made these improvements possible have meant to civilization. It will be readily seen that the activities of the modern world would be utterly impossible with the old methods of transportation. When months were required to haul a wagon load of freight across the continent, it is obvious that nothing but the most precious com- modities could be thus conveyed. The casual observer looking at an automobile does not real- ize that it is made up of many complex parts each one of which probably required a number of stages of development on the part of scientific workers before it was finally completed. The electric current used in the spark, the workings of the internal combustion engine, the mechanism used in transmission, and the vulcanizing of rubber which made pneumatic tires possible, all demanded years of patient work on the part of scientists. Closely associated with transportation are the improved methods of communication. Fast mails, the telegraph, the tele- phone, and the wireless telegraph and telephone, indicate the service that science has rendered to the communication of intelli- gence. At present only a few hours are required to learn the happenings in all parts of the world, while in the days before science discovered the uses of steam and electricity, months were necessary to convey news to the various parts of a country as large as the United States. In the old days business had to be confined largely to local transactions; today there is no geo- graphical limit to exchange. Formerly the people knew prac- tically nothing beyond local happenings; at present all feel themselves to be parts of an immense world community. Human health and well being have been so materially aided by science that a return to the old conditions would arouse a feeling of horror in all who could realize the situation. It has not been many centuries since practically all bodily ailments were attributed to unfavorable stellar conditions or to evil spirits. The disease was diagnosed by a study of the stars rather than by an examination of the body. The germ theory of disease had its origin as late as 1860 and was not thoroughly established until almost 1880. Before this time medicine was simply groping in the dark. A few specific treatments were known, but many of these were founded on

698 IMPROVEMENT ERA false principles. The work of Pasteur on the micro-organisms causing disease, and the application by Lister of the knowledge of these organisms in antiseptic surgery, have probably done more to overcome human suffering than all previous discoveries. The utter helplessness of man in blindly coping with disease is realized when it is known that in Naples 300,000 people died in five months due to contagion, and in Constantinople 10,000 people died in a single day. As late as 1867, 3.4 per cent of the women confined in hospitals died, while today the mortality is only .08 of one per cent. Before the days of Pasteur and Lister about 41 per cent of those having a limb amputated died, while today the percentage has been reduced to about 5. These are only a few of the many illustrations that could be cited to show how scientific discoveries have helped in the control of disease and in the reduction of the death rate. In manufacturing of every kind the discoveries of chemistry and physics have wrought such changes that scarcely any of the processes used by our grandparents are in use today. The new is being replaced by the newer. Electricity taken from the water fall and transmitted to where it can be best utilized now turns the wheels of machinery once operated by hand. In the digging and smelting of ore, in the making of iron and steel, and in the converting of these into articles of commerce all the processes have been improved by discoveries of science. Sim- ilar improvements have been made in the textile industries, in fact, every branch of manufacturing is now using science as a basis in production. Through science many luxuries that could formerly be enjoyed only by the rich are now placed at the dis- posal of everyone. Such household conveniences as electric lights, steam heat, modern plumbing, and labor-saving machines have added much to the comforts of home and have given the housewife a greater opportunity to prepare herself for intelligent motherhood. In agriculture, the oldest of the arts, the transformations due to science are scarcely less marked. From the time of the ancient Greek, when farm practice was often based on dogmatic traditions, to the present time when the principles underlying agriculture are well understood, the methods employed have changed radically. Practically all of this change has come dur- ing the last century since science has been used in solving the problems of the land. Before 1840, when Liebig finally demonstrated the methods by which plants obtain their food, soil management was based on erroneous and wasteful ideas. Since that time the advances in agriculture have been so rapid that volumes would be re- quired to record the discoveries. Every phase of farming has been improved, until today one man is able to produce as much

THE WORLD WITHOUT SCIENCE 699 as was formerly produced by many. This means that the products of the farm can be furnished at a more reasonable rate, and also that many of those formerly required to produce the world's supply of farm products are now at liberty to engage in other productive enterprises. Probably sufficient has been said to show how all the arts and industries of mankind have been profoundly influenced by the work of science. In brief, without the results of science we should find ourselves in isolated communities, dependent on local production, with no adequate means of transportation or communication, and subject to the ravages of disease. We would be forced to content ourselves with very few personal conven- iences; and, worst of all, our minds would be dominated largely by superstitious ignorance regarding our surroundings. With the aid of science man is able to become master of his environ- ment; he may harness the forces of nature and use them to ad- vance his own welfare as well as to make the earth an abiding place worthy of his God-given intelligence. Best of all he is enabled to obey that part of the first command wherein he was given dominion over the earth and was required to subdue it. Logan, Utah Photograph from Underwood and Underwood, New York. THE