Evening star., 1933-04-13

Trying to be as scientific as we could.
we wrote here recently on the effect Of
the ultraviolet rays in sunshine.
Among several letters received we
rather fancied the following: In regard
to your interesting article--the fact Is
that the sun means heat and life; cold
means death. Very simple. scientists to
tho contrary, with all their guesses. To
feel the benefit of the warmth Of the
sun is sufficient-and we should hear
more about It,"
Perhaps the lady is right. after all.
There is such q thing in this world
as studying too hard.
One of Washington's most prominent
physicians of the old school once ad-
mitted to the writer here that he had
"overstudied" in his course at the uni
versity
He said that although no harm seemed
ta have been done him-and, indeed. his
career was a brilliant one-he ever aft
erward noticed numb feeling in his
BRAIN and that, in his opinion. his mind
had suffered, just to what extent he
did not know.
In the effort to find the truth of phe-
nomena Of all kinds scientists have
stressed their own findings. naturally
enough, rather than play up" the aver
age impression of the average person.
Yet in regard to sunshine. as i'm
portant as the actinic rays are, one may
feel that scarcely enough credit has
been given to the infra-red and other
types of pure heat rays.
The heat is. after ALL the big mani
festation, as far as most persons are
concerned.
Ii is the heat of the sun which they
feel, and remember. and talk about the
most as every one will be fully aware
again a few months from How.
1t is the heat of the sun which wakes
the vegetation to a new life in the
Spring.
The ultraviolet rays may be great, as
no doubt they are, but just how much
effect they have on the grass, and the
trees. and the shrubs, and the peonies,
We do not know Maybe the scientists
could tell us, but the queer thing is that
not one scientist In hundred seems to
possess the ability to write plainly
with the qualification OF his own brains.
X ~
In the Springtime the slightest warm
ing of the air in turn tends to warm
the earth. and then every little seed
lying SO patiently dormant there feels
the divine stir. as the world of men has
chosen to call it, the call to life and
growth.
Is the life there. or does the growth
make the life? Perhaps it makes no
difference life is mystery, any way
one chooses to look at it. or attempt to
look at, for, truly, mans looks at life
are not very precise, despite the thou
sands of years of investigation.
1t is interesting to speculate what
would have been the result, by this time,
If the genuine scientific way of looking
at the world and life had prevailed over
the centuries in the masses of the peo-
pie.
In every age. almost since the very
beginning of man as we know him. there
must have been at least few men who
wanted to know so furi1usly that they
let nothing at all stand in their way.
They were never many. however and
they had battle to fight. a continuing
warfare which is still waged en- many
fronts. This conflict may be called in
human. in a sense. since it seeks the
truth regardless of humanity.
Several years ago an enterprising
gentleman wrote an interesting book
pointing out the strange and almost fer
vid faith which many persons of today
have in the scientists and their discov-
cries People of all tyDeS end classes