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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f57f44 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text +*.htm text +*.html text +*.png binary +*.jpg binary +*.svg text +*.pdf binary +*.bmp binary +*.zip binary +*.midi binary +*.mp3 binary diff --git a/78988-0.txt b/78988-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f4b08af --- /dev/null +++ b/78988-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,809 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78988 *** + + + + + LITTLE BLUE BOOK NO. 1471 + Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius + + How to Become + Mentally Superior + + What Makes One Rise Above + the Average + + Henry M. Le Chatelier + + (Translated from the French by Ralph E. Oesper) + + HALDEMAN-JULIUS PUBLICATIONS + GIRARD, KANSAS + + + + + Copyright, 1929, + Haldeman-Julius Company + + PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + + + +HOW TO BECOME MENTALLY SUPERIOR + + +Every school gains renown not only through the scientific achievements +of its professors, but also because of the industrial successes of its +former students. Schools have been a potent factor in the development +of an intellectual elite, the class responsible for the progress of +civilization in any country. If Europe is superior to Africa, the +sole cause lies in the possession of leaders. The blacks of savage +countries may be good manual laborers, but they lack a select class to +direct them, either as governing officials, as officers in warfare, +as scholars, as engineers or as organizers of their industries. The +formation of an intellectual superior class should be the dominant +preoccupation of any country that expects to cut a figure in world +affairs. + +The geologist, de Lapparent, in a didactic statement declared that +every terrain is, of necessity, divided into three strata; the +upper, the middle and the lower. The intellectuals likewise may be +placed on three levels; the men of genius, whose fame and influence +extend throughout the world for many centuries; the great men, whose +renown, however great at a given time, is finally eclipsed by that +of their successors, and lastly, the lower elite, who temporarily +exert a useful influence within rather narrow boundaries, but never +attain far-reaching notability. Each of these three categories of +intellectual superiors renders about the same value of service to +humanity; the men of genius are certainly the greatest benefactors, but +they also occur most seldom. In algebraic terms, the product of the +number in each class multiplied by each individual’s usefulness gives a +constant. + +In a talk to the students of an American university Carnegie said: +“I am speaking only to those of you who are ambitious to become +millionaires; the others do not interest me.” The present speaker +wishes to emphasize a parallel thought: “I am speaking only to those +of you who have an ambition to raise yourselves above the average, and +I believe this will include all of you.” It would surely be folly for +anyone to deliberately set out to become a genius, because this goal +can only be reached through exceptional qualities, but we all can and +should strive to be numbered among the elite, to use this term in its +proper sense. With the exception of certain afflicted individuals, +fortunately not numerous, all of us from birth have the requisite +qualities. The rest is dependent on will power and on the method of +developing and applying our natural endowments. + +Let us examine together, using the experimental method, the conditions +attendant upon the recruitment of the intellectual elite. For this +purpose we need not distinguish the levels of attainment, for they do +not differ in nature, but only in degree. We can then cite as examples +great men with whose lives you are more familiar, and from these we +may draw conclusions applicable to the formation of the ordinary elite. +What qualities are essential and how may these be developed? + + + + +ACTIVITY + + +The most striking characteristic of great men is their zeal for +work. None of them observed the eight-hour day, no matter what the +field of their activities. We may cite as examples great statesmen, +such as Napoleon or Louis XIV; great writers, such as Victor Hugo or +Lamartine; great artists, such as Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci; +great scientists, such as Lavoisier or Pasteur; great manufacturers, +such as Bessemer or Siemens. In truth, they often employed the most +varied ruses to protect their working periods from interruption. +Napoleon assembled his ministerial council during the soirees at the +Tuileries, leaving the reception of guests to the Empress Josephine. +Buffon took refuge in his country house and there peacefully wrote his +natural history. Descartes secreted himself in a little Dutch village +when he desired to cultivate his philosophical meditations. The labor +expended by celebrated men is sometimes greatly underestimated. Powers +of extemporaneous speaking far beyond reality are often ascribed to +great orators. As a matter of fact, the most successful of them write +out their addresses in full before delivering them. Mistaken notions +as to this have originated from false claims. Emile Zola pretended +that his voluminous literary output required only three hours’ daily +toil. Perhaps he did not actually keep the pen in his hand longer than +that, but the final wording comprises only a small part of literary +production. + +Francisque Sarcey, while discussing the art of lecturing, very +judicially analyzed the importance of preliminary work. He said: + +“The title of a lecture should be chosen a month in advance of the +delivery; then the subject matter should be considered for two weeks +during every free moment, especially while strolling about. By +degrees, new and interesting points of view will appear spontaneously; +these should be classified either in the memory or jotted down +systematically. During the third week, the material thus accumulated +should be gone over mentally, the less important points rejected or +suppressed, the others rearranged in their logical order and the +connecting thoughts brought to light. At last, during the fourth week, +the final wording is committed to paper and this requires no great +effort.” + +Great men have not only labored much, but their efforts have been +confined to a few specialties, thus increasing the intensity of their +work. In hydrostatics a force is concentrated on a piston of small +area in order to produce great pressures. Saint Claire Deville devoted +half of his career to the study of dissociation. Berthelot worked +fifteen years on organic synthesis, fifteen years on thermo-chemistry +and fifteen years on agricultural chemistry. Many scientists owe +their fame to studies made in a single field as instanced by Pasteur +in microbiology, Fresnel with the theory of light, Ampere and the laws +of electrodynamics. The same holds true in industrial applications and +as examples we have Vicat and hydraulic cements or Fourneyron and the +turbine. + +This concentration of effort cannot be recommended too highly to young +investigators, for they frequently exhibit an opposite tendency and +allow themselves to be enticed from one thing to another by topics +which appeal to them. Only men of exceptional endowments, like Leonardo +da Vinci or Lavoisier, can successfully distribute their efforts +without paralyzing their creative powers. Some scholars carry this +specialization of their endeavors to excess and pride themselves on +the extent to which they disregard the obligations of daily life. Many +stories in this vein are related of Ampere and of Henri Poincare. The +following actual occurrence illustrates the same point. I was invited +to dine with an illustrious foreigner and on arriving at the hotel +I was told by my host that his wife was ill and consequently she +could not dine with us. He said: “Under these conditions will you be +kind enough to order the dinner, for since I have never studied this +subject, I know nothing about such matters.” + +It is not sufficient to work hard, but is also essential to work +efficiently, i. e., time must not be wasted on useless projects. A +plan of attack should be formulated in advance of starting the actual +work of writing, so that there need be no hesitation. Attempts to +do two things at the same time are usually fruitless, and it should +be matter of principle not to stop working until something definite +has been achieved. Learn to persevere and do not hesitate to adhere +to a decision made after proper reflection. It is this spirit of +organization, this convergence of efforts that is so highly manifested +by great political leaders such as Louvois, Napoleon, Cavour, Mussolini. + +Much gain may accrue by organizing the vague, spontaneous thoughts +which the mind cannot suppress, even though they appear to have little +value. We are always thinking about something, and this involuntary +thought is much less fatiguing than mental effort consciously directed +toward definite production. This preparatory reflection is sometimes +erroneously regarded as being quite distinct from the real work, but +this opinion is quite wrong, for preliminary thought is an essential +forerunner of all creative achievement. In fact, it is just as +indispensable as the final effort and the latter will certainly be +of little avail if the way has not been properly prepared. If the +mind could be trained not to think useless thoughts, the productive +capacity would be enormously enhanced. When Newton was asked how he +had discovered the laws of universal attraction, he replied: “By +always thinking about them.” This may be the dominant reason for the +superiority of great men, but we really know very little about this +fugitive thinking, whose manifestations are not external. In fact, +the originators of such mental processes are sometimes not conscious +of their operation, or, as we say, we are here dealing with the +subconscious. Henri Poincare claimed that he thought during sleep, and +on waking would find at hand the solution of problems which had baffled +him the day before. However, this is not a commendable practice, for it +is opposed to the rest which each night’s sleep should bring. + +How may a zeal for work be developed? Is it a natural gift or is it a +result of education? The greatest stimulant of activity is habit, which +proverbially becomes second nature. After leading an active life, it is +not possible to stop work without suffering. Idleness due to retirement +rapidly kills many men who previously had enjoyed excellent health. +After the habit of working is once formed, a man will work for the mere +joy of working just as we walk for the pleasure of the exercise. It has +become a necessity. + +However, this habit is not easily acquired. Temperament plays some +part. Certain children, from birth on, exhibit more will power, have +more acute faculties of attention, are more persevering, all of which +are essential to the accomplishment of a protracted task. Yet these +predispositions are, in general, developed only to a slight degree and +play only a minor part in the differentiation of individuals. Other +factors seem to be of greater importance. + +The example of the home and of companions exercises a preponderant +influence. A child who all his life has seen an industrious father will +merely through imitation be led to accept the law of the obligation to +work. Pascal, Lavoisier, Pasteur were raised in families in which honor +was paid to industry. Whether the latter is intellectual or manual +matters little. Very few, or perhaps no great men, have come from the +families of the idle rich. + +A second very potent factor is ambition, that is the desire to acquire +riches or honors. Men not favored by the fortunes of birth sometimes +struggle with extreme energy to make a place for themselves. A +striking instance of the power of ambition is found in the career of +Senator Leopold Goirand, who died recently. He published some essays +on education which reveal curious points in his psychological makeup. +At the age of fifteen, he conceived the dual ambition to become very +rich and to attain a powerful political position. He succeeded in +both endeavors. For twenty years he forced himself to be content with +six hours of sleep each night in order to lengthen his working day. +Each morning on arising he spent two hours acquiring general culture, +the rest of the day was devoted to his business, and finally the +evenings were passed in attendance on social affairs, for the latter +are extremely useful in the prosecution of a career. Not until his +physician warned him that he was no longer fit to continue this program +did he consent to sleep eight hours nightly. Many similar examples may +be cited. + +In Bessemer’s autobiography, which is a veritable romance, he tells of +his superhuman efforts, as a young man, to earn enough money to marry. +While Cavour was striving to create the Italian kingdom, he allowed +himself only five hours’ sleep each night so that he might have time +for the stupendous task whose realization had been the dream of his +whole life. He took over the direction of four ministries at one time. + +A third stimulus, more noble than those already discussed, is the +attraction inherent in the fruits of labor, i. e., the joy of knowledge +and the pleasure of performance. The passion for knowledge or success +in a chosen field often arouses men who by temperament or habit might +have been inclined to loaf. A pertinent example is Mallard, one of the +scientific glories of France. Like many others who graduated from the +Ecole Polytechnique at the top of the class he seemed to be destined +for a standardized, peaceful career in the governmental service. As +engineer at Gueret and then as professor at Saint Etienne he divided +his activity between long journeys and everyday affairs, attending to +his ministrative duties and his teaching. At the age of forty he was +appointed professor of mineralogy in the School of Mines in Paris and +consequently because of his teaching duties he found himself obliged to +study this science. He became deeply interested in one of its branches, +crystallography, and for twenty years, until his death, all his efforts +were concentrated in this field. He succeeded in working out original +demonstrations of the laws of crystallography and he created a new +chapter in this field, the theory of crystalline groupings. + +Many similar cases are found among scholars, for many of them are +motivated chiefly by the joy of knowledge. On the other hand, examples +of this disinterested activity are less frequent among industrialists. +However, the pleasure of achievement, rather than the mere love of +gain, has actuated the greatest of these. The optician Zeiss worked +for the glory of his country, Germany, and his native city, Jena. +The Danish brewer Jacobsen engaged in business only to gain the +means of endowing the museums and laboratories of Copenhagen, which +have become world famous. The American millionaire Carnegie while +a young man spent his free time in libraries solely because of his +desire to learn. He later devoted the major portion of his immense +wealth to the development of public libraries and to the founding of +an institute of scientific research. Henry Ford left the farm and +worked in a locksmith’s establishment because of a desire to learn +the use of tools, and even now he derives great pleasure from heading +a well-organized industry. I knew two contractors who had taken part +in the construction of the Suez Canal. They retired from business and +took up agriculture. One engaged in stock-raising, the other developed +a model farm. They devoted all their energies to the enterprises and +ran them so that the receipts and expenses balanced, neither profit nor +loss resulting. Their sole ambition was to do a good piece of work and +to turn out products of superior quality. + +This joy in work may be developed by education and without difficulty. +Success is assured if less attention is given to preparing for +examinations and more stress laid on the intellectual molding of the +children. From their earliest years they have a wide-awake curiosity, +they continually ask why and how. Instead of eradicating this +disposition, it should be cultivated. Science courses lend themselves +wonderfully to this end. Emphasis should be placed on the linking +together of facts, which is the essence of the scientific method, +discarding the fastidious enumeration of isolated facts which so +overburden the memories of pupils today. Any child can be interested in +the consequences of Pascal’s laws of hydrostatics and made anxious to +work diligently to understand them. A study of Archimedes’ principle, +applied to floating bodies, of hydrometers, of water levels in +connecting vessels, of atmospheric pressure--all these may be grouped +around Pascal’s laws and thus made into an attractive ensemble. It +is wrong to treat each of these topics as a separate chapter as many +physics texts do, for then the intimate relationships disappear from +view and likewise all attractiveness is lost. + +Manual exercises should be included in the secondary curriculum because +the formation of ideas in young people is rendered more easy and +pleasant by combining sight and touch. They love motion. For instance, +when teaching hydrostatics, the pupils may be directed to cut cubes +from various kinds of wood, to measure them, to weigh them and finally +to determine the loss in weight when the cubes are immersed in water. +An exercise of this kind makes the appreciation of Archimedes’ +principle pleasurable. In the same way, preliminary exercises in +graphic plan-making lead to a much easier understanding of geometrical +reasoning. Much less intellectual effort is required to comprehend the +demonstration of a truth if actual experimentation has previously made +the reality familiar. + +A final incentive to the ardor for work is good health. The thought +of working or still more of getting to work, i. e., the wish to do +something, involves, if not a true fatigue, at least a feeling of +fatigue which leads many to shrink back. A good digestion and restful +sleep make the thought of work much more agreeable. This does not imply +that a strong will cannot overcome the weakness arising from poor +health, for there are remarkable instances of such victories, but they +are rather exceptional. Pascal subdued his infirmities, but the strain +finally killed him. Health always is a great driving power, and the +truth of the axiom, “_mens sana in corpore sano_,” cannot be debated. +Physical culture should occupy an important place in the education of +the young; it is indispensable in the formation of the intellectual +elite of a nation. However, it must not be forgotten that muscular +fatigue renders all mental labor impossible for the time being. The +physical exercise should follow intellectual exertion, but should never +precede. While in Holland, Descartes devoted his mornings to philosophy +and cultivated his garden in the afternoons. + + + + +IMAGINATION + + +A useful member of society does not merely work hard and produce much +for his own benefit; he should add to the common fund of knowledge. +In other words, he must produce new ideas, discover scientific laws, +devise new literary or artistic presentations, perfect methods of +government; in short, he must play a creative role. + +What is the mechanism by which this progress is realized? Contrary to +popular belief, our knowledge does not increase by leaps and bounds, +but the development is regular and very slow. Each step forward, in +the majority of cases, comes from the simple combination of facts +previously known. It is only necessary to delve in the storehouse of +knowledge and to bring new relations to light. This correlation is a +fruit of the mental faculty, imagination, whose functioning is rather +capricious. The solution of a problem may be sought unsuccessfully for +a long time, and then suddenly it may flash into the mind at a time +when the problem is no longer being consciously considered. + +The work of all great men shows the employment of imagination; it +constitutes the beginning of all great discoveries. Pascal created +hydrostatics by connecting the limitation of the height of a +barometric column with the weight of the atmosphere; Newton discovered +universal gravitation by comparing the movement of the planets with the +fall of an apple; Pasteur founded microbiology by connecting the spread +of disease with the life processes of microscopic organisms. Likewise, +in the field of letters, we find writers dealing with ideas common to +all humanity and sending them forth in new attire. La Fontaine gave +life to Aesop’s fables by endowing the animals with speech; Corneille +introduced a sense of duty magnified almost to heroism into the Spanish +dramas. Artists sometimes slightly exaggerate certain features of +their models to produce a more striking representation. Michelangelo +accentuated the muscular development of heroic figures and Raphael the +grace of women. + +The same is true in industry. Sir William Siemens applied the +theoretical reasoning of Sadi-Carnot to the heating of hearths, and +the regenerative furnace resulted. He invented neither thermo-dynamics +nor industrial heating, but by uniting these two sets of facts, he +brought about a great advance, which made possible the modern processes +of making steel in open hearths and of glass in tank furnaces. All +inventors possess this mental activity, sometimes to excess. It is +interesting to read Bessemer’s autobiography from this point of view. +We see his mind always in feverish agitation, trying each day to +produce something new, usually without success. + +This first type of imagination is meditative. It acts slowly, and to +a certain degree may be governed by the will. There is a second type, +rather more delicate in nature, whose action is sudden and not preceded +by reflection. It is this type which enables us to see at a glance all +the correlations and distant consequences of a chance observation. The +predisposing factors are impressionability and nervous sensibility. +This quality varies greatly from individual to individual, certain +minds respond to the slightest external suggestion, while others feel +nothing, see nothing. In general, great scholars are characterized by +a highly developed aptitude for sensing and using facts presented to +them. The accidental observation that his determinations of the density +of nitrogen were discordant led Lord Rayleigh to the discovery of +argon. Other investigators had been faced with the same phenomenon, but +were not markedly impressed. While attempting to fuse platinum, Saint +Claire Deville was struck by the difference between the calculated +temperature of the oxy-hydrogen flame and the observed melting point +of platinum. This led him to suspect the dissociation of water vapor, +while his collaborators, possessed of the same facts, thought nothing +of them. Similarly, Bessemer was led to his process of producing steel +in a converter by the fortuitous observation of the formation of +malleable steel during an attempt to harden cast iron. Or better still, +Auer von Welsbach discovered the incandescent mantle through a chance +observation of the light emitted on calcination of precipitated thoria. +Numerous analytical chemists had doubtless seen the same thing, but +their attention was not arrested. + +Great artists viewing nature, great generals before a battle, great +lawyers before a trial are sensible to instantaneous impressions which +escape the notice of ordinary men. The two types of intellectual +activity seem to be predominantly natural endowments. Some children +have wide-awake minds, others are more dull and remain thus throughout +life. + +This quality may, however, be developed by education, and more +attention should be paid to this phase of education, than is usually +the case. Exercises in writing composition, problems in geometry, +afford excellent material from which to build up mental habits +of using accumulated knowledge or of seeking new correlations of +known facts. This type of training is doubtless the most useful +function of secondary education. On the other hand, education cannot +develop the second type of mental activity which is not dependent on +reflection, but which functions instantly in some way not known to us. +Nevertheless, there seems to be some possibility of perfecting this +natural endowment by suitable laboratory exercises. + + + + +JUDGMENT + + +The combining of imagination and work, i. e., intellectual activity +joined to bodily activity, does not entirely suffice for the making +of a great man. Excellent examples are inventors, who almost without +exception are possessed of active minds and an equal ardor for +work, and yet few of them become great. In fact, many of them have +difficulty in making both ends meet, and they remain mediocrities. The +two qualities can only be used efficiently if joined with a third; +namely, common sense. This latter, if developed to its highest degree, +becomes what Pascal has called the sense of finesse. Bodily and mental +activity are certainly powerful instruments, but like all aids they +must be used judiciously. Common sense should guide the choice of +problems to be studied. + +One of the most potent reasons for the success of great men is that +they were wise enough to apply their efforts to worth-while problems. +Why will the names of Lavoisier, Sadi-Carnot, Ampere, Fresnel, Saint +Claire Deville, Berthelot always be famous? It is because of the +greatness of the topics they studied. The results of their discoveries +in chemistry, thermo-dynamics, electrodynamics, physical optics, +chemical mechanics, organic synthesis have echoed again and again, and +the reverberations are daily multiplied. + +Many years ago Taine said that the systematic study of the dominant +features of his subject was the essential characteristic of the +work of a true artist. The same holds true in all realms of human +activity. There are dominant phenomena whose influence is felt under +most manifold circumstances. A knowledge of these favoring factors is +of inestimable value to the human race, and their discoveries merit +suitable recognition on the part of their fellowmen. + +A second form of judgment is “critical sense,” indispensable to +both scholars and to those directing industries. This gift makes +possible the detection of errors in measurements or leads to a +premonition against erroneous interpretations of observations. It +is often lacking in inventors, who are prone to persist in their +notions despite self-evident failures. Lesser intellectual lights +also cannot bring themselves to abandon favorite hypotheses which are +not in agreement with the facts; they seek refuge in new additional +hypotheses and cling fast to the original notion. Ditte, a pupil of +Saint Claire Deville, furnished a striking example of this type of +mental gymnastics. While trying to extend the law of fixed dissociation +tensions to the decomposition of solutions of mercuric sulphate, he +found that the concentration of the liquid with respect to sulphuric +acid increased with increasing concentration of mercuric sulphate. +Instead of abandoning his hypothesis, which was obviously inaccurate, +he introduced a second, which today appears absurd, but for a time +it enjoyed a certain credence among chemists. He postulated that +the dissolved mercuric sulphate was present in two forms, part as +neutral salt and part as basic salt, dissolved in, but not combined +with, sulphuric acid. He calculated the proportion of the basic salt +supposedly thus dissolved which would leave a constant concentration +of sulphuric acid in solution, and he viewed the results of this +arbitrary calculation as experimental verification of his hypothesis. +This species of error is constantly perpetrated nowadays by those +who speculate as to the constitution of matter. Savants who, like +Lavoisier, Claud Bernard, Pasteur, combine an ever-watchful imagination +with a critical sense severe enough to lead them to discard hypotheses +found contrary to fact are extremely rare. + +Finally, there is a still more refined form of common sense, namely, +the sense of subtle discrimination which enables us to guide our minds +directly into domains of thought which are not perfectly obvious. It +is often asserted that hypotheses are free to all, an investigator +may postulate what he pleases, provided he finally subjects his +notions to precise, experimental test. However, it is distinctly +worth-while not to set up too many inexact hypotheses, for time should +be economized to the end that production may be increased. A certain +instinctive discernment is necessary to set one rapidly on the best +line of procedure. Rules for this cannot be laid down; it is a matter +of feeling and not of reason. The remarkable productivity of Pasteur +was doubtless due to his ability, from the very first, to thoroughly +organize his researches. Sometimes this ability is ascribed to chance, +but this is not correct, for we see here the fruit of a very shrewd +form of common sense. Saint Claire Deville’s thought that there might +be a possible analogy between the phenomena of decomposition and those +of vaporization was an intuition of genius; it led him to the discovery +of chemical equilibrium, which he termed dissociation, and a new +science, chemical mechanics, has been erected on this idea. + +Good common sense is often a gift of nature, but the more delicate +sense of subtle discrimination is principally a result of education. +It is very rarely observed among the children of the lower grades; it +is a product of classical education, and, above all, it springs from +that which is taught in the home. The English declare that thirty-six +years of education are necessary to make a gentleman, twelve for the +grandfather, twelve for the father and twelve for the son. The same +holds true for this sense of finesse. Pascal, Lavoisier, scholars of +the first rank, came from families of long-standing culture, and their +successes were due in large measure to the prolonged efforts of their +ancestors. + +The study of classics and humanities aids in developing this trait. +Literary or historical criticism requires a constant evaluation of +opposing points of view to determine the part played by each in +domains not amenable to exact measurement. On the other hand, the +study of science develops the geometrical viewpoint, i. e., the use of +syllogism, which is utterly useless when comparing phenomena possessing +no common measure or such as are based on mere probabilities. The +exclusive use of rigorous reasoning and an absolute faith in his +conclusions are sometimes very dangerous to a savant. They hinder him +from taking account of the real value of the hypotheses which he has +made and from recognizing the possible errors in his experiments. These +modes of thought are not less hazardous to the industrialist to whom +they may impart an unwarranted confidence in the predictions as to the +advantages of a new business venture or of a new method of manufacture. + + + + +DOCUMENTATION + + +Many of the essentials for laying claim to a right to be numbered +among the intellectual elite have been discussed above, but not all. +Suppose that a savage has had from birth all the qualities which we +have just reviewed, but that he is entirely ignorant of the progress of +the science and industry of the civilized world. It would be extremely +difficult for him to advance our knowledge, for he knows nothing about +such matters. He can accomplish feats which to him seem extraordinarily +difficult, such as, cutting flint or extracting iron from ores, just as +his ancestors did. To us, however, he would seem ignorant and no one +would dream of classing him as a great man. + +No one can make innovations or improve our knowledge unless he is +cognizant of actual conditions. There are several reasons why this is +so. In the first place, one can obviously improve only those things +which he really knows. A frequent cause of the failure of inventors +is that they knowingly venture into unfamiliar fields. Bessemer, the +son of a metallurgist, advanced the science of metallurgy, but made +a miserable failure when he attempted to build a large telescope and +also when he tried to construct a boat designed to prevent seasickness, +because he knew little or nothing about the theory of optical +instruments or of mechanical principles. + +While serving on a commission appointed to investigate fire damp, I met +a physician, intelligent, possessed of a good practice, but obsessed by +the demon of invention. Much affected by an explosion in which several +hundred miners had been killed, he thought it would be a good thing +to send a current of air through the mine to sweep out the explosive +gases and thus obviate such disasters. He disclosed his plan to an +official in the Department of Public Works, and the latter warmly +congratulated him on his initiative. This unfortunate encouragement +led him to abandon his practice for a year and he devoted himself to +the construction of a ventilating system. We were obliged to inform +him that every coal mine in the world is ventilated. Furthermore, +twenty kilometers from his home he could have seen in action immense +installations which closely resembled the blowing apparatus which he +had worked out, and this device differed but slightly from the bellows +used for several thousands of years by savages for melting metals. + +A second reason for being well acquainted with the field arises from +the fact that all creative advances, all discoveries are, for the +most part, the result of combining facts already known. The progress +achieved by a single individual is, in general, extremely little, but +among these short steps forward, one perhaps, like the last drop which +causes the vessel to overflow, may make an invention realizable or it +may alter the orientation of our scientific ideas. + +Pasteur did not invent the communication of diseases, for this +was known to all physicians, nor did he discover the existence of +living microscopic organisms, which had been studied from the time +of Spallanzani. He merely compared these two sets of phenomena and +recognized their relations one to the other. Had he not known the +facts, he could not have made the discovery. Likewise, Lavoisier did +not invent the balance; it had often been used before. Every alchemist +who extracted metals from ores had checked the efficiency of his +procedures by weighing. On the other hand, all the physicists knew +that gases had weight. Lavoisier simply had to combine these facts to +recognize that the increase in weight of metals when calcined in the +air was due to the absorption of a gas, oxygen. The time was ripe for +this discovery, and Lavoisier had only to pluck the ripened fruit. + +The same holds true in industry. The open hearth process of making +steel resulted from a combination of Reaumur’s century-old work on +the refining of cast iron and Siemens’ new method of heating. In his +invention of the incandescent gas mantle, von Welsbach started with +Clamond’s magnesia “basket” and perfected this device by substituting +thoria for the magnesia. This linkage of known facts is so common +that no industrial invention is so novel that the lawyers cannot find +authorities for prior claims. For the same reason, the defamers of +great scholars, great writers and great painters find great pleasure in +accusing them of plagiarism. Fontaine has been reproached with having +copied from Aesop, and Corneille is accused of servile imitation of +Guillen de Castro. + +If the popular saying, “There is nothing new under the sun,” is surely +not strictly true, nevertheless it is quite accurate to state that +progress due to any one man is comparatively small. Humanity moves +forward at a slow pace, but the thousand-fold accumulation of short +steps forward has altered the face of the world. This progressive +revolution has only been possible because men have had a thorough +knowledge of the accomplishments of their predecessors. + +A third reason for being well versed is that accomplishment of anything +new demands a knowledge of the technique of the field, and this has to +be learned. If Bessemer had not been a founder in his youth he would +never have invented his process of making steel. A thorough knowledge +of analytical chemistry is essential to the making of chemical +discoveries; success in literature is only possible to one who really +knows his own language; a painter must know how to draw. This assertion +may appear to be a step backward. Too many artists try to paint, +knowing neither drawing nor manipulation of colors; too many scientists +have no interest in methods involving actual measurements, but they are +content to construct their science with pencil and paper only. These +varieties of modern painting and science are very fruitful for their +devotees. However, who dares to assert that the cubists and similar +faddists will some day be classed as great painters or that much of +our present-day theories of the constitution of matter will be highly +regarded fifty years from now. In comparison, the men who discovered +new laws in chemistry, electricity, optics, etc., will be just as +honored thousands of years hence, as Pythagoras, Ptolemy and Archimedes +now are. + +This knowledge of the field, essential to any worker who hopes to +advance human welfare, may be acquired through instruction furnished by +schools of all grades, from the highest to the lowest, or it may be a +result of observation of the facts, i. e., a fruit of the direct study +of the surroundings in which we live. + +No one is born with a knowledge of the outer world; this must be +acquired solely from experience and toil. Certain natural endowments, +memory in particular, favor the acquisition of this necessary +knowledge. Many great men have had remarkable memories, Berthelot and +President Poincare are outstanding instances. The former knew the +titles of more than a thousand of his papers and the volume numbers of +the Annales de Chimie in which they were published. It is said that +Poincare needed only to write a speech once to know it by heart. He +amazed his audience at the Sorbonne by his delivery of a eulogy of the +scientific achievements of Berthelot. He spoke more than an hour and a +quarter, using no notes or memoranda, and yet with such precision that +any one might have thought him an exceptionally well-informed chemist. + +The sense of observation is no less valuable; it is essential to the +completion of the fragmentary knowledge acquired by the memory during +the years of schooling. As we go through life, we are confronted by +a multiplicity of facts which demand our attention and efforts. They +are so numerous that we cannot expect to learn them from books, and, +furthermore, many of them are not common knowledge and consequently +cannot be found in courses of instruction. Our knowledge of the world +is constantly augmented by the labor of every one of us, but the +contributions are extremely unequal varying with aptitude and training. +In military instruction, observation is taught by assignments in +scouting. The pupil is sent to a given point and on his return he is +questioned as to what he saw. Usually, he has seen nothing. He is sent +back and told what to look for; the undulations of the ground, the kind +of vegetation, isolated trees, hedgerows, roads, houses, the contour of +the horizon, and little by little the pupil improves. + +High-school exercises in science should be largely planned to develop +observational powers. Actual handling of apparatus and materials lends +itself excellently to this end. A student is told to heat a material, +say iodine, in a test tube, or to dissolve a substance, mercuric +sulphate, for instance, in water, and then asked to describe all that +he has seen. After he has completed his report, the instructor should +point out all that actually can be observed in the experiment. + + + + +CONCLUSION + + +To sum up, we find that the formation of an intellectual elite entails +the union of four qualities--industry, imagination, judgment, training. +Unfortunately, these qualities are, in a certain degree, contradictory +among themselves. The toiler, bound to his task like an ox to a cart, +often forgets to pause and meditate; his intellectual activity slows +down. The dreamer, the inventor lets himself be guided by his fancies +and often lacks common sense. Finally, the abuse of book learning and +memory tends to paralyze all the intellectual faculties. + +It is extremely difficult to produce a perfect balancing of these +diverse faculties. This fact alone is sufficient to explain the +infrequency of great men and, _a fortiori_, of men of genius. It +is useless to suppose, as many do, that men of genius owe their +accomplishments solely to exceptional natural endowments which raise +them above the common level. They have qualities which taken singly are +not extraordinary, but it is the occurrence of all these qualities in a +single mind that is rare. + +Most men do not like to work. The suburbs of Paris are filled with +small houses inhabited by renters, who perhaps in the beginning +worked hard, but only in the hope of soon being able to stop working. +Unfortunately, this feeling is all too general in the Latin countries. +In 1918, during the Armistice, a party of American engineers who had +served as officers were taken for a boat ride down the Seine from Paris +to Rouen to see the bridges, locks, etc. To them, the most striking +sight was the number of fishermen lining the banks of the river. They +could not believe that there were so many Frenchmen content to spend +their days watching a cork float on the water, thinking nothing, doing +nothing. + +Intellectual industry is not much more common than bodily industry. +One needs only to scan the interminable lists of candidates for petty +government positions which require little if any, mental exertion. The +holders of such offices are content to repeat each day exactly what was +done the day before. This apathy is apparent from childhood on. How +many college students have a horror of real effort? They are satisfied +to learn assigned lessons by rote, and never do more than the required +amount. Indeed, they often do not try to understand what they learn. + +Common sense is perhaps rarer still. In proof of this, consider the +results of popular elections. The voters work painfully to make their +livings and then cast their ballots for the worst wasters of the +public wealth. Industrial conflicts lead to mutual ruination; efforts +to squeeze the consumer, who is the goose that produces the golden +eggs, bear witness to this same stupidity. Each side devotes itself +to efforts to bring about a redistribution of wealth, each hoping +to get the bigger share. Neither party comprehends the real problem, +which should be its sole interest, i. e., they should both strive for +increased production, which would benefit the world at large. + +Finally, the question of learning what has been done and the matter +of instruction and training is still in a precarious condition. The +number of illiterates is still very large. Schools are often more +concerned with politics and large enrollments than with the pupils. +Unfortunately, this is one of the habitual wastes of democracies. In +the higher schools, students obtain cheapened degrees, and higher +culture is regarded with more and more contempt. The fetish of equality +means a leveling on a lower plane. + +Admitting what has been said, let us make a calculation. Suppose one +man in ten has a love of industry; one in ten a certain intellectual +activity; one in ten common sense; one in ten has been well taught. The +probability that these four qualities will be found in one individual +will be equal to the fraction 1 over 10 raised to the 4th power, or 1 +over 10,000, meaning one in ten thousand--i. e., one in ten thousand +may be expected to belong to the intellectual elite. This is not +many. The production of a great man requires the union of these same +qualities, but each in full bloom. If each quality, developed to this +high degree, occurs in one man in a hundred, the probability of their +being thus present in a single individual is one in a hundred million. +Consequently, we can explain why men of genius are so rare, without +seeking the reason in the realms of wonder. + +It is a very noble task to aid in the creation of an intellectual +aristocracy. The prosperity and lasting glory of any country, all its +future welfare, depend on the success of these efforts. Above all, +this is a work of education, and no effort should be spared to realize +this common good. The family should set a good example to the younger +children and inculcate a taste for toil; the secondary school must +develop imagination and common sense; and finally the colleges and +universities must impart training. + +However, an intellectual elite is not the only thing required to make +a great nation. There must also be a moral elite, a great class which +knows respect for the rights of others, a class to whom the Golden Rule +is law, and last but not least, this class also respects and demands +respect for real liberty. I do not wish to discuss this last point in +detail, for it lies outside my province, and especially because we have +a right to expect that the educated classes will have both a highly +developed sense of duty and a profound appreciation of independence. It +is their duty and privilege to set a noble example to others. + + + + +Transcriber’s Note: + +- Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). + +- Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. + +- Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice. + +- Spelling was retained as in the original except for the following +changes: + + Page 15: “by which this prog ress” to “by which this progress” + Page 23: “new method of manufactutre” to “new method of manufacture” + Page 24: “his plan to an offical” to “his plan to an official” + Page 25: “The same Holds true” to “The same holds true” + Page 25: “of cast iron and Siemen’s” to “of cast iron and Siemens’” +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78988 *** diff --git a/78988-h/78988-h.htm b/78988-h/78988-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0687eaa --- /dev/null +++ b/78988-h/78988-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1324 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="UTF-8"> + <title> + How to Become Mentally Superior | Project Gutenberg + </title> + <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + <style> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .51em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .49em; + text-indent: 1em; +} + +p.halftitle { font-size: 1.5em; font-weight: bold; text-indent: 0; text-align: center; } + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: 33.5%; + margin-right: 33.5%; + clear: both; +} + +hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} +@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} +h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} +table.autotable { border-collapse: collapse; } +table.autotable td, +table.autotable th { padding: 0.25em; } + +.tdl {text-align: left;} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: small; + text-align: right; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; + text-indent: 0; +} /* page numbers */ + +figcaption {font-weight: bold;} +figcaption p {margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: .2em; text-align: inherit;} + +/* Images */ + +img { + max-width: 100%; + height: auto; +} +img.w100 {width: 100%;} + +.x-ebookmaker .illowp45 { + width: 100% + } + +.illowp45 { + width: 45% + } + +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; +} + +/* Transcriber's notes */ + +.tnote { + border: dashed 1px; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + padding-bottom: 0.5em; + padding-top: 0.5em; + padding-left: 0.5em; + padding-right: 0.5em; + } + +.tnote p { + text-indent: 0 + } + +ins { + text-decoration: none + } + +.ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { + text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; + font-weight: bold + } +.ph2 { + font-size: x-large; + margin: 0.75em auto + } +.ph3 { + font-size: large; + margin: 0.83em auto + } +.ph4 { + font-size: medium; + margin: 1.12em auto + } + + </style> +</head> + +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78988 ***</div> + + +<figure class="figcenter illowp45" style="max-width: 100.0em;" id="cover"> + <img alt="" class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" id="img_images_cover.jpg"> +</figure> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p> + +<p class="ph2">LITTLE BLUE BOOK NO. 1471</p> +<p class="ph3">Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius</p> + +<h1>How to Become +Mentally Superior</h1> + +<p class="ph2">What Makes One Rise Above +the Average</p> + +<p class="ph2">Henry M. Le Chatelier</p> + +<p class="ph3">(Translated from the French by Ralph E. Oesper)</p> +<br><br> +<p class="ph3">HALDEMAN-JULIUS PUBLICATIONS</p> +<p class="ph3">GIRARD, KANSAS</p> +<br><br> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span></p> + +<p class="ph4">Copyright, 1929,</p> +<p class="ph4">Haldeman-Julius Company</p> +<br><br> +<p class="ph4">PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span></p> + + <p class="halftitle">HOW TO BECOME MENTALLY SUPERIOR</p> +</div> + +<p>Every school gains renown not only through +the scientific achievements of its professors, +but also because of the industrial successes of +its former students. Schools have been a potent +factor in the development of an intellectual +elite, the class responsible for the progress +of civilization in any country. If Europe +is superior to Africa, the sole cause lies in the +possession of leaders. The blacks of savage +countries may be good manual laborers, but +they lack a select class to direct them, either +as governing officials, as officers in warfare, +as scholars, as engineers or as organizers of +their industries. The formation of an intellectual +superior class should be the dominant preoccupation +of any country that expects to cut a +figure in world affairs.</p> + +<p>The geologist, de Lapparent, in a didactic +statement declared that every terrain is, of +necessity, divided into three strata; the upper, +the middle and the lower. The intellectuals +likewise may be placed on three levels; the +men of genius, whose fame and influence extend +throughout the world for many centuries; +the great men, whose renown, however great at +a given time, is finally eclipsed by that of their +successors, and lastly, the lower elite, who +temporarily exert a useful influence within +rather narrow boundaries, but never attain +far-reaching notability. Each of these three +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span>categories of intellectual superiors renders +about the same value of service to humanity; +the men of genius are certainly the greatest +benefactors, but they also occur most seldom. +In algebraic terms, the product of the number +in each class multiplied by each individual’s +usefulness gives a constant.</p> + +<p>In a talk to the students of an American university +Carnegie said: “I am speaking only +to those of you who are ambitious to become +millionaires; the others do not interest me.” +The present speaker wishes to emphasize a +parallel thought: “I am speaking only to those +of you who have an ambition to raise yourselves +above the average, and I believe this +will include all of you.” It would surely be +folly for anyone to deliberately set out to become +a genius, because this goal can only be +reached through exceptional qualities, but we +all can and should strive to be numbered +among the elite, to use this term in its proper +sense. With the exception of certain afflicted +individuals, fortunately not numerous, all of +us from birth have the requisite qualities. The +rest is dependent on will power and on the +method of developing and applying our natural +endowments.</p> + +<p>Let us examine together, using the experimental +method, the conditions attendant upon +the recruitment of the intellectual elite. For +this purpose we need not distinguish the levels +of attainment, for they do not differ in nature, +but only in degree. We can then cite as examples +great men with whose lives you are +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span>more familiar, and from these we may draw +conclusions applicable to the formation of the +ordinary elite. What qualities are essential +and how may these be developed?</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="ACTIVITY"> + ACTIVITY + </h2> +</div> + +<p>The most striking characteristic of great men +is their zeal for work. None of them observed +the eight-hour day, no matter what the field of +their activities. We may cite as examples +great statesmen, such as Napoleon or Louis +XIV; great writers, such as Victor Hugo or +Lamartine; great artists, such as Michelangelo +or Leonardo da Vinci; great scientists, such as +Lavoisier or Pasteur; great manufacturers, +such as Bessemer or Siemens. In truth, they +often employed the most varied ruses to protect +their working periods from interruption. +Napoleon assembled his ministerial council +during the soirees at the Tuileries, leaving the +reception of guests to the Empress Josephine. +Buffon took refuge in his country house and +there peacefully wrote his natural history. +Descartes secreted himself in a little Dutch +village when he desired to cultivate his philosophical +meditations. The labor expended by +celebrated men is sometimes greatly underestimated. +Powers of extemporaneous speaking +far beyond reality are often ascribed to +great orators. As a matter of fact, the most +successful of them write out their addresses in +full before delivering them. Mistaken notions +as to this have originated from false claims. +Emile Zola pretended that his voluminous literary +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span>output required only three hours’ daily +toil. Perhaps he did not actually keep the pen +in his hand longer than that, but the final +wording comprises only a small part of literary +production.</p> + +<p>Francisque Sarcey, while discussing the art +of lecturing, very judicially analyzed the importance +of preliminary work. He said:</p> + +<p>“The title of a lecture should be chosen a +month in advance of the delivery; then the +subject matter should be considered for two +weeks during every free moment, especially +while strolling about. By degrees, new and interesting +points of view will appear spontaneously; +these should be classified either in the +memory or jotted down systematically. During +the third week, the material thus accumulated +should be gone over mentally, the less important +points rejected or suppressed, the others +rearranged in their logical order and the +connecting thoughts brought to light. At last, +during the fourth week, the final wording is +committed to paper and this requires no great +effort.”</p> + +<p>Great men have not only labored much, but +their efforts have been confined to a few specialties, +thus increasing the intensity of their +work. In hydrostatics a force is concentrated +on a piston of small area in order to produce +great pressures. Saint Claire Deville devoted +half of his career to the study of dissociation. +Berthelot worked fifteen years on organic synthesis, +fifteen years on thermo-chemistry and +fifteen years on agricultural chemistry. Many +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span>scientists owe their fame to studies made in a +single field as instanced by Pasteur in microbiology, +Fresnel with the theory of light, Ampere +and the laws of electrodynamics. The +same holds true in industrial applications and +as examples we have Vicat and hydraulic cements +or Fourneyron and the turbine.</p> + +<p>This concentration of effort cannot be recommended +too highly to young investigators, +for they frequently exhibit an opposite tendency +and allow themselves to be enticed from +one thing to another by topics which appeal to +them. Only men of exceptional endowments, +like Leonardo da Vinci or Lavoisier, can successfully +distribute their efforts without paralyzing +their creative powers. Some scholars +carry this specialization of their endeavors to +excess and pride themselves on the extent to +which they disregard the obligations of daily +life. Many stories in this vein are related of +Ampere and of Henri Poincare. The following +actual occurrence illustrates the same point. +I was invited to dine with an illustrious foreigner +and on arriving at the hotel I was told +by my host that his wife was ill and consequently +she could not dine with us. He said: +“Under these conditions will you be kind +enough to order the dinner, for since I have +never studied this subject, I know nothing +about such matters.”</p> + +<p>It is not sufficient to work hard, but is also +essential to work efficiently, i. e., time must +not be wasted on useless projects. A plan of +attack should be formulated in advance of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span>starting the actual work of writing, so that +there need be no hesitation. Attempts to do +two things at the same time are usually fruitless, +and it should be matter of principle not +to stop working until something definite has +been achieved. Learn to persevere and do not +hesitate to adhere to a decision made after +proper reflection. It is this spirit of organization, +this convergence of efforts that is so +highly manifested by great political leaders +such as Louvois, Napoleon, Cavour, Mussolini.</p> + +<p>Much gain may accrue by organizing the +vague, spontaneous thoughts which the mind +cannot suppress, even though they appear to +have little value. We are always thinking +about something, and this involuntary thought +is much less fatiguing than mental effort consciously +directed toward definite production. +This preparatory reflection is sometimes erroneously +regarded as being quite distinct from +the real work, but this opinion is quite wrong, +for preliminary thought is an essential forerunner +of all creative achievement. In fact, it +is just as indispensable as the final effort and +the latter will certainly be of little avail if the +way has not been properly prepared. If the +mind could be trained not to think useless +thoughts, the productive capacity would be +enormously enhanced. When Newton was +asked how he had discovered the laws of universal +attraction, he replied: “By always +thinking about them.” This may be the dominant +reason for the superiority of great men, +but we really know very little about this fugitive +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span>thinking, whose manifestations are not external. +In fact, the originators of such mental +processes are sometimes not conscious of their +operation, or, as we say, we are here dealing +with the subconscious. Henri Poincare claimed +that he thought during sleep, and on waking +would find at hand the solution of problems +which had baffled him the day before. However, +this is not a commendable practice, for it +is opposed to the rest which each night’s sleep +should bring.</p> + +<p>How may a zeal for work be developed? Is +it a natural gift or is it a result of education? +The greatest stimulant of activity is habit, +which proverbially becomes second nature. +After leading an active life, it is not possible +to stop work without suffering. Idleness due +to retirement rapidly kills many men who previously +had enjoyed excellent health. After +the habit of working is once formed, a man +will work for the mere joy of working just as +we walk for the pleasure of the exercise. It +has become a necessity.</p> + +<p>However, this habit is not easily acquired. +Temperament plays some part. Certain children, +from birth on, exhibit more will power, +have more acute faculties of attention, are more +persevering, all of which are essential to the +accomplishment of a protracted task. Yet these +predispositions are, in general, developed only +to a slight degree and play only a minor part +in the differentiation of individuals. Other factors +seem to be of greater importance.</p> + +<p>The example of the home and of companions +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span>exercises a preponderant influence. A child +who all his life has seen an industrious father +will merely through imitation be led to accept +the law of the obligation to work. Pascal, Lavoisier, +Pasteur were raised in families in +which honor was paid to industry. Whether +the latter is intellectual or manual matters +little. Very few, or perhaps no great men, have +come from the families of the idle rich.</p> + +<p>A second very potent factor is ambition, that +is the desire to acquire riches or honors. Men +not favored by the fortunes of birth sometimes +struggle with extreme energy to make a place +for themselves. A striking instance of the power +of ambition is found in the career of Senator +Leopold Goirand, who died recently. He +published some essays on education which reveal +curious points in his psychological makeup. +At the age of fifteen, he conceived the dual +ambition to become very rich and to attain a +powerful political position. He succeeded in +both endeavors. For twenty years he forced +himself to be content with six hours of sleep +each night in order to lengthen his working +day. Each morning on arising he spent two +hours acquiring general culture, the rest of the +day was devoted to his business, and finally +the evenings were passed in attendance on social +affairs, for the latter are extremely useful +in the prosecution of a career. Not until his +physician warned him that he was no longer +fit to continue this program did he consent to +sleep eight hours nightly. Many similar examples +may be cited.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span></p> + +<p>In Bessemer’s autobiography, which is a veritable +romance, he tells of his superhuman efforts, +as a young man, to earn enough money +to marry. While Cavour was striving to create +the Italian kingdom, he allowed himself only +five hours’ sleep each night so that he might +have time for the stupendous task whose realization +had been the dream of his whole life. +He took over the direction of four ministries +at one time.</p> + +<p>A third stimulus, more noble than those already +discussed, is the attraction inherent in +the fruits of labor, i. e., the joy of knowledge +and the pleasure of performance. The passion +for knowledge or success in a chosen field often +arouses men who by temperament or habit +might have been inclined to loaf. A pertinent +example is Mallard, one of the scientific glories +of France. Like many others who graduated +from the Ecole Polytechnique at the top of the +class he seemed to be destined for a standardized, +peaceful career in the governmental service. +As engineer at Gueret and then as professor +at Saint Etienne he divided his activity between +long journeys and everyday affairs, attending +to his ministrative duties and his teaching. +At the age of forty he was appointed professor +of mineralogy in the School of Mines in +Paris and consequently because of his teaching +duties he found himself obliged to study +this science. He became deeply interested in +one of its branches, crystallography, and for +twenty years, until his death, all his efforts +were concentrated in this field. He succeeded +in working out original demonstrations of the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span>laws of crystallography and he created a new +chapter in this field, the theory of crystalline +groupings.</p> + +<p>Many similar cases are found among scholars, +for many of them are motivated chiefly by the +joy of knowledge. On the other hand, examples +of this disinterested activity are less frequent +among industrialists. However, the pleasure of +achievement, rather than the mere love of gain, +has actuated the greatest of these. The optician +Zeiss worked for the glory of his country, +Germany, and his native city, Jena. The Danish +brewer Jacobsen engaged in business only +to gain the means of endowing the museums +and laboratories of Copenhagen, which have +become world famous. The American millionaire +Carnegie while a young man spent his free +time in libraries solely because of his desire to +learn. He later devoted the major portion of +his immense wealth to the development of public +libraries and to the founding of an institute +of scientific research. Henry Ford left the +farm and worked in a locksmith’s establishment +because of a desire to learn the use of +tools, and even now he derives great pleasure +from heading a well-organized industry. I knew +two contractors who had taken part in the construction +of the Suez Canal. They retired from +business and took up agriculture. One engaged +in stock-raising, the other developed a model +farm. They devoted all their energies to the +enterprises and ran them so that the receipts +and expenses balanced, neither profit nor loss +resulting. Their sole ambition was to do a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span>good piece of work and to turn out products of +superior quality.</p> + +<p>This joy in work may be developed by education +and without difficulty. Success is assured +if less attention is given to preparing for examinations +and more stress laid on the intellectual +molding of the children. From their +earliest years they have a wide-awake curiosity, +they continually ask why and how. Instead +of eradicating this disposition, it should +be cultivated. Science courses lend themselves +wonderfully to this end. Emphasis should be +placed on the linking together of facts, which +is the essence of the scientific method, discarding +the fastidious enumeration of isolated facts +which so overburden the memories of pupils +today. Any child can be interested in the consequences +of Pascal’s laws of hydrostatics and +made anxious to work diligently to understand +them. A study of Archimedes’ principle, applied +to floating bodies, of hydrometers, of +water levels in connecting vessels, of atmospheric +pressure—all these may be grouped +around Pascal’s laws and thus made into an +attractive ensemble. It is wrong to treat each +of these topics as a separate chapter as many +physics texts do, for then the intimate relationships +disappear from view and likewise all attractiveness +is lost.</p> + +<p>Manual exercises should be included in the +secondary curriculum because the formation of +ideas in young people is rendered more easy +and pleasant by combining sight and touch. +They love motion. For instance, when teaching +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span>hydrostatics, the pupils may be directed to cut +cubes from various kinds of wood, to measure +them, to weigh them and finally to determine +the loss in weight when the cubes are immersed +in water. An exercise of this kind makes the +appreciation of Archimedes’ principle pleasurable. +In the same way, preliminary exercises +in graphic plan-making lead to a much easier +understanding of geometrical reasoning. Much +less intellectual effort is required to comprehend +the demonstration of a truth if actual experimentation +has previously made the reality +familiar.</p> + +<p>A final incentive to the ardor for work is +good health. The thought of working or still +more of getting to work, i. e., the wish to do +something, involves, if not a true fatigue, at +least a feeling of fatigue which leads many to +shrink back. A good digestion and restful +sleep make the thought of work much more +agreeable. This does not imply that a strong +will cannot overcome the weakness arising from +poor health, for there are remarkable instances +of such victories, but they are rather exceptional. +Pascal subdued his infirmities, but the +strain finally killed him. Health always is a +great driving power, and the truth of the +axiom, “<i>mens sana in corpore sano</i>,” cannot be +debated. Physical culture should occupy an +important place in the education of the young; +it is indispensable in the formation of the intellectual +elite of a nation. However, it must +not be forgotten that muscular fatigue renders +all mental labor impossible for the time being. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span>The physical exercise should follow intellectual +exertion, but should never precede. While in +Holland, Descartes devoted his mornings to +philosophy and cultivated his garden in the +afternoons.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="IMAGINATION"> + IMAGINATION + </h2> +</div> + +<p>A useful member of society does not merely +work hard and produce much for his own benefit; +he should add to the common fund of +knowledge. In other words, he must produce +new ideas, discover scientific laws, devise new +literary or artistic presentations, perfect methods +of government; in short, he must play a +creative role.</p> + +<p>What is the mechanism by which this <ins title="Original has 'prog ress'" id="progress">progress</ins> +is realized? Contrary to popular belief, +our knowledge does not increase by leaps and +bounds, but the development is regular and +very slow. Each step forward, in the majority +of cases, comes from the simple combination of +facts previously known. It is only necessary +to delve in the storehouse of knowledge and to +bring new relations to light. This correlation +is a fruit of the mental faculty, imagination, +whose functioning is rather capricious. The +solution of a problem may be sought unsuccessfully +for a long time, and then suddenly it may +flash into the mind at a time when the problem +is no longer being consciously considered.</p> + +<p>The work of all great men shows the employment +of imagination; it constitutes the +beginning of all great discoveries. Pascal created +hydrostatics by connecting the limitation +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span>of the height of a barometric column with the +weight of the atmosphere; Newton discovered +universal gravitation by comparing the movement +of the planets with the fall of an apple; +Pasteur founded microbiology by connecting +the spread of disease with the life processes of +microscopic organisms. Likewise, in the field +of letters, we find writers dealing with ideas +common to all humanity and sending them +forth in new attire. La Fontaine gave life to +Aesop’s fables by endowing the animals with +speech; Corneille introduced a sense of duty +magnified almost to heroism into the Spanish +dramas. Artists sometimes slightly exaggerate +certain features of their models to produce a +more striking representation. Michelangelo +accentuated the muscular development of heroic +figures and Raphael the grace of women.</p> + +<p>The same is true in industry. Sir William +Siemens applied the theoretical reasoning of +Sadi-Carnot to the heating of hearths, and the +regenerative furnace resulted. He invented +neither thermo-dynamics nor industrial heating, +but by uniting these two sets of facts, he +brought about a great advance, which made +possible the modern processes of making steel +in open hearths and of glass in tank furnaces. +All inventors possess this mental activity, +sometimes to excess. It is interesting to read +Bessemer’s autobiography from this point of +view. We see his mind always in feverish agitation, +trying each day to produce something +new, usually without success.</p> + +<p>This first type of imagination is meditative. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span>It acts slowly, and to a certain degree may be +governed by the will. There is a second type, +rather more delicate in nature, whose action is +sudden and not preceded by reflection. It is +this type which enables us to see at a glance +all the correlations and distant consequences of +a chance observation. The predisposing factors +are impressionability and nervous sensibility. +This quality varies greatly from individual to +individual, certain minds respond to the slightest +external suggestion, while others feel nothing, +see nothing. In general, great scholars are +characterized by a highly developed aptitude +for sensing and using facts presented to them. +The accidental observation that his determinations +of the density of nitrogen were discordant +led Lord Rayleigh to the discovery of argon. +Other investigators had been faced with the +same phenomenon, but were not markedly impressed. +While attempting to fuse platinum, +Saint Claire Deville was struck by the difference +between the calculated temperature of the +oxy-hydrogen flame and the observed melting +point of platinum. This led him to suspect the +dissociation of water vapor, while his collaborators, +possessed of the same facts, thought nothing +of them. Similarly, Bessemer was led to +his process of producing steel in a converter +by the fortuitous observation of the formation +of malleable steel during an attempt to harden +cast iron. Or better still, Auer von Welsbach +discovered the incandescent mantle through a +chance observation of the light emitted on calcination +of precipitated thoria. Numerous analytical +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span>chemists had doubtless seen the same +thing, but their attention was not arrested.</p> + +<p>Great artists viewing nature, great generals +before a battle, great lawyers before a trial are +sensible to instantaneous impressions which +escape the notice of ordinary men. The two +types of intellectual activity seem to be predominantly +natural endowments. Some children +have wide-awake minds, others are more +dull and remain thus throughout life.</p> + +<p>This quality may, however, be developed by +education, and more attention should be paid to +this phase of education, than is usually the +case. Exercises in writing composition, problems +in geometry, afford excellent material +from which to build up mental habits of using +accumulated knowledge or of seeking new correlations +of known facts. This type of training +is doubtless the most useful function of +secondary education. On the other hand, education +cannot develop the second type of mental +activity which is not dependent on reflection, +but which functions instantly in some way +not known to us. Nevertheless, there seems to +be some possibility of perfecting this natural +endowment by suitable laboratory exercises.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="JUDGMENT"> + JUDGMENT + </h2> +</div> + +<p>The combining of imagination and work, i. e., +intellectual activity joined to bodily activity, +does not entirely suffice for the making of a +great man. Excellent examples are inventors, +who almost without exception are possessed of +active minds and an equal ardor for work, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span>yet few of them become great. In fact, many +of them have difficulty in making both ends +meet, and they remain mediocrities. The two +qualities can only be used efficiently if joined +with a third; namely, common sense. This latter, +if developed to its highest degree, becomes +what Pascal has called the sense of finesse. +Bodily and mental activity are certainly powerful +instruments, but like all aids they must +be used judiciously. Common sense should +guide the choice of problems to be studied.</p> + +<p>One of the most potent reasons for the success +of great men is that they were wise enough +to apply their efforts to worth-while problems. +Why will the names of Lavoisier, Sadi-Carnot, +Ampere, Fresnel, Saint Claire Deville, Berthelot +always be famous? It is because of the +greatness of the topics they studied. The results +of their discoveries in chemistry, thermo-dynamics, +electrodynamics, physical optics, +chemical mechanics, organic synthesis have +echoed again and again, and the reverberations +are daily multiplied.</p> + +<p>Many years ago Taine said that the systematic +study of the dominant features of his +subject was the essential characteristic of the +work of a true artist. The same holds true in +all realms of human activity. There are dominant +phenomena whose influence is felt under +most manifold circumstances. A knowledge of +these favoring factors is of inestimable value +to the human race, and their discoveries merit +suitable recognition on the part of their fellowmen.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span></p> + +<p>A second form of judgment is “critical sense,” +indispensable to both scholars and to those directing +industries. This gift makes possible +the detection of errors in measurements or +leads to a premonition against erroneous interpretations +of observations. It is often lacking +in inventors, who are prone to persist in their +notions despite self-evident failures. Lesser intellectual +lights also cannot bring themselves +to abandon favorite hypotheses which are not +in agreement with the facts; they seek refuge +in new additional hypotheses and cling fast to +the original notion. Ditte, a pupil of Saint +Claire Deville, furnished a striking example of +this type of mental gymnastics. While trying +to extend the law of fixed dissociation tensions +to the decomposition of solutions of mercuric +sulphate, he found that the concentration of +the liquid with respect to sulphuric acid increased +with increasing concentration of mercuric +sulphate. Instead of abandoning his hypothesis, +which was obviously inaccurate, he +introduced a second, which today appears absurd, +but for a time it enjoyed a certain credence +among chemists. He postulated that the +dissolved mercuric sulphate was present in two +forms, part as neutral salt and part as basic +salt, dissolved in, but not combined with, sulphuric +acid. He calculated the proportion of +the basic salt supposedly thus dissolved which +would leave a constant concentration of sulphuric +acid in solution, and he viewed the results +of this arbitrary calculation as experimental +verification of his hypothesis. This +species of error is constantly perpetrated nowadays +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span>by those who speculate as to the constitution +of matter. Savants who, like Lavoisier, +Claud Bernard, Pasteur, combine an ever-watchful +imagination with a critical sense severe +enough to lead them to discard hypotheses +found contrary to fact are extremely rare.</p> + +<p>Finally, there is a still more refined form of +common sense, namely, the sense of subtle discrimination +which enables us to guide our +minds directly into domains of thought which +are not perfectly obvious. It is often asserted +that hypotheses are free to all, an investigator +may postulate what he pleases, provided he +finally subjects his notions to precise, experimental +test. However, it is distinctly worth-while +not to set up too many inexact hypotheses, +for time should be economized to the end +that production may be increased. A certain +instinctive discernment is necessary to set one +rapidly on the best line of procedure. Rules +for this cannot be laid down; it is a matter of +feeling and not of reason. The remarkable productivity +of Pasteur was doubtless due to his +ability, from the very first, to thoroughly organize +his researches. Sometimes this ability +is ascribed to chance, but this is not correct, +for we see here the fruit of a very shrewd form +of common sense. Saint Claire Deville’s +thought that there might be a possible analogy +between the phenomena of decomposition and +those of vaporization was an intuition of +genius; it led him to the discovery of chemical +equilibrium, which he termed dissociation, and +a new science, chemical mechanics, has been +erected on this idea.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span></p> + +<p>Good common sense is often a gift of nature, +but the more delicate sense of subtle discrimination +is principally a result of education. It +is very rarely observed among the children of +the lower grades; it is a product of classical +education, and, above all, it springs from that +which is taught in the home. The English declare +that thirty-six years of education are +necessary to make a gentleman, twelve for the +grandfather, twelve for the father and twelve +for the son. The same holds true for this sense +of finesse. Pascal, Lavoisier, scholars of the +first rank, came from families of long-standing +culture, and their successes were due in +large measure to the prolonged efforts of their +ancestors.</p> + +<p>The study of classics and humanities aids in +developing this trait. Literary or historical +criticism requires a constant evaluation of opposing +points of view to determine the part +played by each in domains not amenable to +exact measurement. On the other hand, the +study of science develops the geometrical viewpoint, +i. e., the use of syllogism, which is utterly +useless when comparing phenomena possessing +no common measure or such as are based +on mere probabilities. The exclusive use of +rigorous reasoning and an absolute faith in his +conclusions are sometimes very dangerous to a +savant. They hinder him from taking account +of the real value of the hypotheses which he +has made and from recognizing the possible errors +in his experiments. These modes of +thought are not less hazardous to the industrialist +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span>to whom they may impart an unwarranted +confidence in the predictions as to the +advantages of a new business venture or of a +new method of <ins title="Original has 'manufactutre'" id="manufacture">manufacture</ins>.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="DOCUMENTATION"> + DOCUMENTATION + </h2> +</div> + +<p>Many of the essentials for laying claim to a +right to be numbered among the intellectual +elite have been discussed above, but not all. +Suppose that a savage has had from birth all +the qualities which we have just reviewed, but +that he is entirely ignorant of the progress of +the science and industry of the civilized world. +It would be extremely difficult for him to advance +our knowledge, for he knows nothing +about such matters. He can accomplish feats +which to him seem extraordinarily difficult, +such as, cutting flint or extracting iron from +ores, just as his ancestors did. To us, however, +he would seem ignorant and no one would +dream of classing him as a great man.</p> + +<p>No one can make innovations or improve our +knowledge unless he is cognizant of actual conditions. +There are several reasons why this is +so. In the first place, one can obviously improve +only those things which he really knows. +A frequent cause of the failure of inventors is +that they knowingly venture into unfamiliar +fields. Bessemer, the son of a metallurgist, advanced +the science of metallurgy, but made a +miserable failure when he attempted to build +a large telescope and also when he tried to construct +a boat designed to prevent seasickness, +because he knew little or nothing about the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span>theory of optical instruments or of mechanical +principles.</p> + +<p>While serving on a commission appointed to +investigate fire damp, I met a physician, intelligent, +possessed of a good practice, but obsessed +by the demon of invention. Much affected +by an explosion in which several hundred +miners had been killed, he thought it +would be a good thing to send a current of air +through the mine to sweep out the explosive +gases and thus obviate such disasters. He disclosed +his plan to an <ins title="Original has 'offical'" id="official">official</ins> in the Department +of Public Works, and the latter warmly congratulated +him on his initiative. This unfortunate +encouragement led him to abandon his +practice for a year and he devoted himself to +the construction of a ventilating system. We +were obliged to inform him that every coal +mine in the world is ventilated. Furthermore, +twenty kilometers from his home he could have +seen in action immense installations which +closely resembled the blowing apparatus which +he had worked out, and this device differed +but slightly from the bellows used for several +thousands of years by savages for melting +metals.</p> + +<p>A second reason for being well acquainted +with the field arises from the fact that all +creative advances, all discoveries are, for the +most part, the result of combining facts already +known. The progress achieved by a single +individual is, in general, extremely little, +but among these short steps forward, one perhaps, +like the last drop which causes the vessel +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span>to overflow, may make an invention realizable +or it may alter the orientation of our scientific +ideas.</p> + +<p>Pasteur did not invent the communication +of diseases, for this was known to all physicians, +nor did he discover the existence of living +microscopic organisms, which had been +studied from the time of Spallanzani. He merely +compared these two sets of phenomena and +recognized their relations one to the other. +Had he not known the facts, he could not have +made the discovery. Likewise, Lavoisier did +not invent the balance; it had often been used +before. Every alchemist who extracted metals +from ores had checked the efficiency of his +procedures by weighing. On the other hand, +all the physicists knew that gases had weight. +Lavoisier simply had to combine these facts +to recognize that the increase in weight of metals +when calcined in the air was due to the absorption +of a gas, oxygen. The time was ripe +for this discovery, and Lavoisier had only to +pluck the ripened fruit.</p> + +<p>The same <ins title="Original has 'Holds'" id="holds">holds</ins> true in industry. The open +hearth process of making steel resulted from a +combination of Reaumur’s century-old work on +the refining of cast iron and <ins title="Original has 'Siemen’s" id="Siemens">Siemens’</ins> new +method of heating. In his invention of the incandescent +gas mantle, von Welsbach started +with Clamond’s magnesia “basket” and perfected +this device by substituting thoria for the +magnesia. This linkage of known facts is so +common that no industrial invention is so +novel that the lawyers cannot find authorities +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span>for prior claims. For the same reason, the defamers +of great scholars, great writers and +great painters find great pleasure in accusing +them of plagiarism. Fontaine has been reproached +with having copied from Aesop, and +Corneille is accused of servile imitation of +Guillen de Castro.</p> + +<p>If the popular saying, “There is nothing new +under the sun,” is surely not strictly true, nevertheless +it is quite accurate to state that progress +due to any one man is comparatively +small. Humanity moves forward at a slow +pace, but the thousand-fold accumulation of +short steps forward has altered the face of the +world. This progressive revolution has only +been possible because men have had a thorough +knowledge of the accomplishments of their +predecessors.</p> + +<p>A third reason for being well versed is that +accomplishment of anything new demands a +knowledge of the technique of the field, and +this has to be learned. If Bessemer had not +been a founder in his youth he would never +have invented his process of making steel. A +thorough knowledge of analytical chemistry +is essential to the making of chemical discoveries; +success in literature is only possible to +one who really knows his own language; a +painter must know how to draw. This assertion +may appear to be a step backward. Too +many artists try to paint, knowing neither +drawing nor manipulation of colors; too many +scientists have no interest in methods involving +actual measurements, but they are content +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span>to construct their science with pencil and paper +only. These varieties of modern painting and +science are very fruitful for their devotees. +However, who dares to assert that the cubists +and similar faddists will some day be classed +as great painters or that much of our present-day +theories of the constitution of matter will +be highly regarded fifty years from now. In +comparison, the men who discovered new laws +in chemistry, electricity, optics, etc., will be +just as honored thousands of years hence, as +Pythagoras, Ptolemy and Archimedes now are.</p> + +<p>This knowledge of the field, essential to any +worker who hopes to advance human welfare, +may be acquired through instruction furnished +by schools of all grades, from the highest to +the lowest, or it may be a result of observation +of the facts, i. e., a fruit of the direct study of +the surroundings in which we live.</p> + +<p>No one is born with a knowledge of the outer +world; this must be acquired solely from experience +and toil. Certain natural endowments, +memory in particular, favor the acquisition of +this necessary knowledge. Many great men +have had remarkable memories, Berthelot and +President Poincare are outstanding instances. +The former knew the titles of more than a thousand +of his papers and the volume numbers of +the Annales de Chimie in which they were published. +It is said that Poincare needed only to +write a speech once to know it by heart. He +amazed his audience at the Sorbonne by his +delivery of a eulogy of the scientific achievements +of Berthelot. He spoke more than an +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span>hour and a quarter, using no notes or memoranda, +and yet with such precision that any one +might have thought him an exceptionally well-informed +chemist.</p> + +<p>The sense of observation is no less valuable; +it is essential to the completion of the fragmentary +knowledge acquired by the memory +during the years of schooling. As we go +through life, we are confronted by a multiplicity +of facts which demand our attention and +efforts. They are so numerous that we cannot +expect to learn them from books, and, furthermore, +many of them are not common knowledge +and consequently cannot be found in courses +of instruction. Our knowledge of the world is +constantly augmented by the labor of every +one of us, but the contributions are extremely +unequal varying with aptitude and training. +In military instruction, observation is taught +by assignments in scouting. The pupil is sent +to a given point and on his return he is questioned +as to what he saw. Usually, he has seen +nothing. He is sent back and told what to look +for; the undulations of the ground, the kind of +vegetation, isolated trees, hedgerows, roads, +houses, the contour of the horizon, and little by +little the pupil improves.</p> + +<p>High-school exercises in science should be +largely planned to develop observational powers. +Actual handling of apparatus and materials +lends itself excellently to this end. A +student is told to heat a material, say iodine, +in a test tube, or to dissolve a substance, mercuric +sulphate, for instance, in water, and then +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span>asked to describe all that he has seen. After +he has completed his report, the instructor +should point out all that actually can be observed +in the experiment.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CONCLUSION"> + CONCLUSION + </h2> +</div> + +<p>To sum up, we find that the formation of an +intellectual elite entails the union of four qualities—industry, +imagination, judgment, training. +Unfortunately, these qualities are, in a +certain degree, contradictory among themselves. +The toiler, bound to his task like an ox to a +cart, often forgets to pause and meditate; his +intellectual activity slows down. The dreamer, +the inventor lets himself be guided by his fancies +and often lacks common sense. Finally, +the abuse of book learning and memory tends +to paralyze all the intellectual faculties.</p> + +<p>It is extremely difficult to produce a perfect +balancing of these diverse faculties. This fact +alone is sufficient to explain the infrequency +of great men and, <i>a fortiori</i>, of men of genius. +It is useless to suppose, as many do, that men +of genius owe their accomplishments solely to +exceptional natural endowments which raise +them above the common level. They have qualities +which taken singly are not extraordinary, +but it is the occurrence of all these qualities +in a single mind that is rare.</p> + +<p>Most men do not like to work. The suburbs +of Paris are filled with small houses inhabited +by renters, who perhaps in the beginning +worked hard, but only in the hope of soon being +able to stop working. Unfortunately, this +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span>feeling is all too general in the Latin countries. +In 1918, during the Armistice, a party of American +engineers who had served as officers were +taken for a boat ride down the Seine from +Paris to Rouen to see the bridges, locks, etc. +To them, the most striking sight was the number +of fishermen lining the banks of the river. +They could not believe that there were so many +Frenchmen content to spend their days watching +a cork float on the water, thinking nothing, +doing nothing.</p> + +<p>Intellectual industry is not much more common +than bodily industry. One needs only to +scan the interminable lists of candidates for +petty government positions which require +little if any, mental exertion. The holders +of such offices are content to repeat each day +exactly what was done the day before. This +apathy is apparent from childhood on. How +many college students have a horror of real +effort? They are satisfied to learn assigned +lessons by rote, and never do more than the +required amount. Indeed, they often do not +try to understand what they learn.</p> + +<p>Common sense is perhaps rarer still. In +proof of this, consider the results of popular +elections. The voters work painfully to make +their livings and then cast their ballots for +the worst wasters of the public wealth. Industrial +conflicts lead to mutual ruination; +efforts to squeeze the consumer, who is the +goose that produces the golden eggs, bear witness +to this same stupidity. Each side devotes +itself to efforts to bring about a redistribution +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span>of wealth, each hoping to get the +bigger share. Neither party comprehends the +real problem, which should be its sole interest, +i. e., they should both strive for increased production, +which would benefit the world at large.</p> + +<p>Finally, the question of learning what has +been done and the matter of instruction and +training is still in a precarious condition. The +number of illiterates is still very large. Schools +are often more concerned with politics and large +enrollments than with the pupils. Unfortunately, +this is one of the habitual wastes of +democracies. In the higher schools, students +obtain cheapened degrees, and higher culture +is regarded with more and more contempt. +The fetish of equality means a leveling on a +lower plane.</p> + +<p>Admitting what has been said, let us make a +calculation. Suppose one man in ten has a +love of industry; one in ten a certain intellectual +activity; one in ten common sense; one +in ten has been well taught. The probability +that these four qualities will be found in one +individual will be equal to the fraction 1 over +10 raised to the 4th power, or 1 over 10,000, +meaning one in ten thousand—i. e., one in ten +thousand may be expected to belong to the +intellectual elite. This is not many. The production +of a great man requires the union of +these same qualities, but each in full bloom. +If each quality, developed to this high degree, +occurs in one man in a hundred, the probability +of their being thus present in a single individual +is one in a hundred million. Consequently, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>we can explain why men of genius are so rare, +without seeking the reason in the realms of +wonder.</p> + +<p>It is a very noble task to aid in the creation +of an intellectual aristocracy. The prosperity +and lasting glory of any country, all its future +welfare, depend on the success of these efforts. +Above all, this is a work of education, and no +effort should be spared to realize this common +good. The family should set a good example +to the younger children and inculcate a taste +for toil; the secondary school must develop +imagination and common sense; and finally the +colleges and universities must impart training.</p> + +<p>However, an intellectual elite is not the only +thing required to make a great nation. There +must also be a moral elite, a great class which +knows respect for the rights of others, a class +to whom the Golden Rule is law, and last but +not least, this class also respects and demands +respect for real liberty. I do not wish to discuss +this last point in detail, for it lies outside +my province, and especially because we have a +right to expect that the educated classes will +have both a highly developed sense of duty +and a profound appreciation of independence. +It is their duty and privilege to set a noble +example to others.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> +<div class="tnote"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="Transcribers_note"> +Transcriber’s Note: +</h2> + +<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p> + +<p>Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice.</p> + +<p>Spelling was retained as in the original except for the following changes:</p> + +<table class="autotable"> + +<tbody> +<tr> +<td class="tdl">Page <a href="#progress">15</a>: “by which this prog ress”</td> +<td class="tdl">to</td> +<td class="tdl">“by which this progress”</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdl">Page <a href="#manufacture">23</a>: “new method of manufactutre”</td> +<td class="tdl">to</td> +<td class="tdl">“new method of manufacture”</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdl">Page <a href="#official">24</a>: “his plan to an offical”</td> +<td class="tdl">to</td> +<td class="tdl">“his plan to an official”</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdl">Page <a href="#holds">25</a>: “The same Holds true”</td> +<td class="tdl">to</td> +<td class="tdl">“The same holds true”</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdl">Page <a href="#Siemens">25</a>: “of cast iron and Siemen’s”</td> +<td class="tdl">to</td> +<td class="tdl">“of cast iron and Siemens’”</td> +</tr> + +</tbody></table> +</div></div> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78988 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/78988-h/images/cover.jpg b/78988-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8c0ce59 --- /dev/null +++ b/78988-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6c72794 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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