Evening star., 1921-07-31
AMERICANS DETERIORATING, SAYS EDISON,
AFTER A STUDY OF APPLICANTS FOR JOBS

should take similar view, for il i'm
plies that the place for facts is in the
books, not in the brain, and that the
function of the brain is 10 know how
to get facts out Of books when facts
may be required. Personally. l hold
the brain above the book.
Perhaps the failure of the colleges
lies principally in their lack of apprecia-
ton of the dull inferiority of the mate
rial which the lower schools deliver 10
them: IL may be because OF this that
they do not go down the line to help to-
ward the correction Of national evil |
am sure the public does not understand
the perils of this so generally existent
educational situation. although l see
how il grew up. That the newspapers
il considerable number criticise me does
not surprise me. for they have not
studied that which We are trying TO ac-
complish; they do not even understand
the objects: they incorrectly state and
unintelligently comment on our meth
DDS. They have assumed that | esp--
reverse OF true. and. thinking l attack
the colleges. the newspapers attack me
in this matter. upon, generally, princi-
pies of self-defense.
THE colleges do not take men 10
teach them isolated facts was the in
dignant statement of one man who
thought | had attacked the colleges. II
this be trus, then the colleges are
wrong. for young men cannot think eff
ciently unless they have facts in their
minds ready to serve bases for their
thinking. 1t would be a melancholy
world if all experts had to fly to libraries
every time they were required TO pass
on anything.
Certainly the brain should have the
facts If a brain possesses an enormous
number Of facts. those facts. through
action of the subconScious mind auto
maticaly will make themselves avail
able when needed and automatically will
keep themselves out of the way. not in
terferinS when not required.
THE employer who does not study
and judge men before hiring them is
foolish. There Is no way whereby men
may be judged save by finding out how
much and what they know. and espe-
cialiy their capacity for learning mem
ory. Men cannot be rightly judged by
looks. I have tried ii and been fooled
many times. Possession or non- posses
sion of great quantities OF facts has
slight. if any, influence upon appear
ance.
a1"HE questionnaires which I de-
viSed asked nothing which the
average young college graduate seeking
a position in a great Industrial plant
ought not to know. for they required no
information concerning anything not In
the college or school courses. For ex-
ample. l used the first words Of the
Aeneid. Almost none identified them
THAT revealed the fact that the MEM
ory of the examined men did not retain
facts which their minds certainly had
studied. This was the important point.
l tried to make a mind test. The mind
which would retain facts studied in the
college would retain facts brought u its
attention in later business life, and vice
versa.
.Is that clear to you? In mechan-
ical engineering I put the simplest
problems as. suppose so-and-so does
So and So what then? Very few could
answer. That was another serious
revelation. Young college men found
themselves unable to suppose. They
in memory, for. trained in colleges
and technical schools. they revealed
ignorance of the first rules Of me-
chanicS.
But again i must explain that
those who have not had such training
ination. The fault unQuestionably
lies farther than the colleges down
the line. II there Is comfort for the
college president and technical school
head in that. he is quite welcome to
it. Let him take it. ] am all for the
have. but they might be a great deal
better, for only per cent of the total
we examined answered our very SIM
pie questions with evidence Of decent
memory and actual intelligence.
THE fact is that our youth. bright
though they may be as children, are
not educated so as to. take college
training with 100 per cent benefit;
they do not get the preliminary train
ing necessary to the development of =
reasonable fitness in college for the
ultimate of usefulness In later life.
They are not started right. They aIN
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