Evening star., 1932-04-21

| If knowledge does not seem to get
the world anywhere, despite its wide
diffusion, it may be because 1t Is in
capable of great reforms in and of
itself. or it may be that it is in the
possession of so few human beings,
after All.
| What comes in one ear goes out the
other, and men and women often seem
to rejoice in ignorance. The spirit Of
banter which sufTuses civilization is one
of the greatest brakes upon progress,
and especially upon the acquisition OF
genuine learning.
/ Men take pride. almost, in laughing
at what they know nothing about.
Somehow this procedure makes them
easier in their minds. They feel more
at home with themselves when they
give knowledge. in any of its branches,
a swift kick to windward.
Two gentlemen were talking about
something of which they knew nothing,
net even the terms properly. Said one,
as he got up from a chair in the sun
shine behind a closed window: This
g sunlight Will CdIl ile IL OH AcAC AoA'S
enough"
Some of these infra-red rays" re-
piled the other, with a sneer. You
ought to get yourself a machine"
Here were two mistakes in as many
sentences In the first place. it is not
the infra-red in sunlight which tans.
but the ultraviolet, or actinlc rays.
The infra-red are the heat rays. The
tanning rays are invisible. These are
| the same rays which act upon the
sensitive emulsion of Photographic
film
The second mistake was in thinking
that one can get tanned behind ordl-
nary window glass. Unless window
paning is especially processed, under
one or more trade names, it admits
practically none of the ultra violet.
Only the fact that film is Of extreme
SensitiveneSs permits a photograph TO
be taken indoors.
The tanning quality is almost totally
lacking. One might lie in the sun be-
hind ordinary window glass for days
on end without receiving bit of sun
burn. A third error, which the gentle
men did not set tsrth in words, but
which they touches upon by connota-
ton. at least, was the assumption that
there is enough ultraviolet strength in
sunshine in this latitude at this time
of year to do any good, anyway. There
is not. Even the sun at MONDAY re-
quires many hours exposure for its
addictS before they get results in the
'suntan" way. As Spring wears on, and
the revolutions of the heavenly bodies
change, the amount of heat and light
in the sunshine increases. so that by
midsummer the power of the sun in re-
spect to ultra violet reaches its peak in
this climate
The fourth assumption of ignorance,
in this cese, was that there is some
thing to joke about in regard to the
modern sun lamp. 1t is always the butt
of most joking on the part of persons
who know the least about it. Some way
the subject appeals to them as an ex-
cellent opportunity to cast mild asper-
sionS upon some man or woman who.
being Of a more mentally daring type
has had the ambition and mental
energy to investigate one of the real
contributions of science to the welfare
of the average person.
The proper sort CT sun lamp. used
with discretion and some knowledge of
its powers and limitations, enables one
to receive more and better sunlight in
Winter and early Spring than it is
possible for cne to get from outdoor
exercise. On snowy, Sleety Winter
mornings. when there is no ray of the
real sun at all, the little sun in lamp
may be turned on and the modern sun
worshiper bask in rays as beneficial as
any.
Many Of sciences wonderful inven-
tions are not available to the layman.
This one is. For that reason it con-
stitutes one of the most practical and
amazing of discoveries. More than that,
however, it is a test CT the progress
of the individual Those who receive
word of it with interest and become
intrigued enough to look into it for
themselves may feel certain that they
have forward looking minds; that they
are not held back from something good
by the Ignorant banter of another type
Of mind. Those who instantly reject
something Of which they know nothing
and find in it merely food for ''poking
fun" at some other human being should