The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-09-03

TIME enyiable quality which we
call presence OF mind means
alertness in answering back
effectively in difficult situations. 1t Is
displayed when the practical man
averts a double railway accident by
hurrying along the line to signaling
distance; when the witness in law
court keeps his head under severe
cross-examination: when the director
OF an orchestra by clever choice of
tune stops a FIRE panic in a theater;
when a speaker on the platform of a
public meeting comes we'll out of what
Is called I'm Scotland a "heclling';
when the captain of a liner maintains
order after a collision at sea; when
surgeon, hurriedly summoned, per-
forms a life or death operation in the
nick of time; when a general by SUI
preme tactics wins a battle that seemed
lost; when politician by a witty
repartee turns to good account an i'll
natured intersection at a public meet
ing; when a horseman or driver by
daring dexterity avoids what appeared
certain destruction to himself and
others; or when an administrator by q
clever and unhesitating stroke cuts a
Gordian knot.
What would one not give to have
this ready presence of mind! Every
one has an admiration for the man
who does the right thing so coolly and
confidently when there is a street acct
dent or fire or dog fight or dis
orderly public meeting or a brain
stretching argument!
What Is Presence of Mind;
In Sport, for Instance?
In games that are deliberate. where
the time factor does not operate, as in
golf or chess (if either can be called a
game) there is no characteristic OPP
portunity for presence of mind. The
same holds true for billiards. But in
quick games like cricket, tennis. foot
ball and baseball there is an obvious
time factor, and the psychical quality
of presence OF mind" counts for much.
This gives us clew In recognizing the
characteristic feature of presence Of
mind" Itmeans rapidly of decision,
an alertness of judgment. a short latent
period between stimulus and response.
But II we follow further the clew of
presence of mind suggested by quick
games. We get hold of another idea,
that presence Of mind implies an open
mindedncss to a considerable range OF
possibilities. 1t means an imaginative
all-roundness. The tennis player Is
ready for all sorts of balls: the public
speaker is ready for all sorts of ques-
lions; the physician or surgeon is
ready for all sorts OF complications. !"
There are some simple animals. like
the slipper animalcule ESQ intimately
studied by Prof. Woodruff of Yale), that
have only one answer back to every
environmental question. This implies
little presence of mind" perhaps the
creature has never more than flashes
of mind at any time. But cat, ready
for anything" has much presence of
mind, and Prime Minister or Presi-
dent has morei
Just as Darwin I'm his Origin OF
Species" and Descent. of Man" antici-
pAted score of difficulties confronting
his evolution theory, projecting him
self in his surprising candor into the
position of an antagonist, so the man
with presence of mind is not only
ready--he anticipates
A third component in presence of
mind is self-possession. which means
a control of attention so that it is
focused on the essential business in
hand. Many ableminded people, self
tn fEnf
menti are distracted and perturbed by
crowded streets or by the atmosphere
OF the salon or BY the huge assembly
or by contact with aristocrats and
very famous personages. Why. when
the very self-possessed Heine walked
from Jena to Weimar to visit Goethe,
what could he say. at first, but that
the plums on the roadside trees were
very good that year! And when a
continental princess met a world ia
nous philosopher she was, With all
her courtesy. dumb before him.
'Es fallt mir NIGHTS elm" (nothing
occurred to me to say). she admitted
afterward. In spite of all her ex-
perience she had for the time being
lost her presence of mind, and here
we may note that the quality of never
being at a loss, though not confined
TO aristocrats. is perhaps seen in them
in its finest flower, provided that they
are big intellectually and morally as
well as socially.
Calmness May Be Due
To Security of Position
It means, no doubt, kindly dispo-
sition: it may have behind II 1--WE
have no experience) the supreme self