Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-03-16
SCIENTIFIC TRAINING.
Something that Ia Deserving of Mott
in the United States.

SCIENTIFIC TRAINING.
Something that ia Deserving of Notice
in the United States.
The discussion in England on the sub
lect of technical education has brought out
point which is deserving of notice in this
country, where public opinion in favor of
this form of instruction is rapidly increas-
ing, and that is that it is the exception
rather than the rule that a man of sci
entific training is an inventor. 1t might
be assumed that person who was thor
oughly trained in the laws of science in
any special department. who knew just
how far scientific progress had gone, the
roads by which it had travelled, what was
possible and what was not possible of ac-
complishment under the limitations which
nature imposes upon man, would be the
one best fitted to discover and bring into
use new adaptations of natural power. Yet
experience has shown that this very
knowledge is of detriment rather than adj
vantage, so far as the spirit of invention is
concerned.
If one goes through the long list of in
ventors = Watt, Stevenson, Arkwright,
Fulton, Faraday, Morse and Bell, not to
speak of an immense army of men of lesser
importance-he will realize that it is rare,
indeed, to find one who had the advantages
of scientific training in his youth In a
recently printed article on the English
lighthouses, Professor Tyndall, that high
scientific authority on all questions apper-
tanning to light, asserts that he was COM
plete1y astounded at a proposition to in
q tho ,,orar o,,j ,,,opr0v.1 tla L..
in light houses, made to him by the
keeper of one of these establishments on
the coast of Ireland. The change pro-
posed by this Irish lighthouse keeper in
volved an abandonment of certain princi-
pies which had been considered of great
importance; and yet, after the suggestion
had been made and Professor Tyndall had
carefully considered it, he came to the
conclusion that it was one of great utility,
and when, later on, a practical trial was
made of it, the result exceeded even the
anticipations of the inventor
Professor Tyndall frankly comedies that
in the great majority of cases original ideas
of this kind have to be obtained, not from
men skilled in science, but from men who
are SO far ignorant of scientific rules and
regulations that they have not the least
hesitation in disregarding them. The
reason for this seems to be that knowledge
in almost all Of its departments is relative.
There are, of course, exceptions in the
realms of pure mathematics Euclid's
problems in geometry are precisely the
same now that they were when they were
frs, formulated, but in those cases where
the laws relate to material objects their
certainty is by no means as great, for they
may be open to now unknown objections
and qualifications, and sometimes, perhaps,
to almost complete reversal
The unconscious but inevitable tendency
of thorough scientific training is to make
those who have been subjected to it in a
large degree the slaves of rules. This, in
| most cases, IL advantageous, insofar as ii
prevents them from undertaking exploits
that past experience has shown to be i'm
possible; but it also frequently prevents
them from questioning the exactness OF
scientific rules which may later on be
proved to be not invaluable. 1t may be
urged-and it has been urged in England
that this fact constitutes a powerful
reason for opposing general system OF in
dustrial training as applied to public
HShCpirf bht IL cOOlllo w US tildJ tlOSc W ut
take this ground altogether misjudge the
intent and scope OF instruction of this
character.
To begin with, the great majority Of
men and women are not inventors all
that can be hoped for from them is tina;
they can proftably utilize the inventions
of others, and there can be no question
that IN this respect primary instruction in
the general laws of mechanics would be Of
vast service in countless thousands of cases
More than this, there is not the least
reason for assuming that industrial instruc-
ton In the manner it would be carried on
in our public schools would be of so thor.
ough and exhaustive a character, particu.
larly In It's scientific features, that it would
bring the minds of the pupils Of these in
situations under the control of strictly
scientific habits of thought. The great
aim is to give to the children a certain
degree of manual dexterity, an an insight
into the common methods of industrial
work. 1t seems TO us that this class OF
knowledge is no greater than all inventors
must possess before they can have the ma
terial upon which their genius for i'm
provement has to work.
A very large proportion of the inven-
tons for which patents are taken out in
this country are made by men working in
our shops and factories, who in the course
of their every dav experience have
brought to their attention how, by a
change in this or that direction. decided
Improvements in method or in product
can be obtained. The general knowledge
of their work that they possess, instead OF
being Of detriment, is of advantage to
them. Indeed, in most cases, if it were not
for this knowledge no method of improve
ment would suggest itself to them. Now,
this general and primary information is
All that one can hope to give to the pupils
In our public schools by a system of indus
trial instruction. Technical schools will
carry this instruction to far higher level,
but probably not one in 500 of the boys
who graduate from our public schools will
be in position to acquire a thorough
technical training, and il the spirit of in
yention should be crushed in this minute
fraction, the encouragement given to in
vention by the primary instruction which
the great mass of our children received
would far more than offset the possible
loss which Professor Tyndall and others
look upon as matter of such serious i'm
portance.-Boston Herald.