Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1961-07-29

correlation out of coincidence
with the theological label, "Op-
erations Research" That this
invidious invasion of biology
land therefore of the eco
Monies of taxation) - this
"positivism or scientism"-re-
mains seriously questioned is
evidenced by Prof. Barry Com
moner's recent article in Sci
ence, I'm Defense of Biology"
Several recent volumes take
up this protest; and one in
prospect on 1.-THE Cold War in
Biology" (stressing genetics
with its Russian Slant should
bring this rather bitter con-
troversy into sharp relief and
give biophysics pause in its
pretense of .omnipotence.
To be sure, there are
aspects of geometry, treating
of solid symmetries for ex-
ample, whose logic permits no
averaging and no differences
of opinion. Its plurals are
whole numbers pure" num-
bers- presenting no fictitious,
infinite, serial arrangement
used in measuring by COM
pairing an unnatural, artificial
unit "a "standard'') to tell
how much in terms of how
many. But this only stresses
the need for a perspective
which distinguishes this mag
mary continuum of plane
geometry from the finite
geometry of all things phys
ical whereof a total is mean
ingless. That which is whole
is compounded, but not as a
numerical sum. Its qualities
are not quantities.
The symmetries of struc-
ture alone are unambiguously
definable and certain. They
can be modelled, introducing
none of the always and some
times seriously ambiguous
uncertainty of worded and
numbered information. They
are incommensurable, unre-
lated to magnitude or pre-
cision problems. This is never
true of valuative measures
and all measurements are
valuative, be they in terms of
space or of time. They are
only approximately true; suf-
ficiently so for a limited pur-
pose. Lacking these basic dis
tinctions the history of mathe-
MATES NOTABLY in the recent
developm ent of "econo-
metrics) could hardly be
other than "fit gossip for a
school, of scandal"
There is thus something
anomalous in the fact that
modern technology is Gre
ating, not just an urban prob
lem in population density-a
density that cannot be re-
lieved by arbitrarily reserving
open spaces or rebuilding the
city at public expense. We
should, indeed, tax land ade-
quately to spur private inn
provements and their main
tenance; but outmoded fiscal
jurisdictions are making fast
transport and communication
promote a global explosion in
human reproduction e v e n
the refugee camps are popu.
lated largely by people born
in them!
Dilemmas like this breed
alibi artists who insist on
passing the "buck" to others,
to experts" or the rising gen.
Grafton, or by saying they are
personal problems in local
self-government" in which
central government can act
only to finance social secur-
ity," i.e., rob Peter to pay
Paul. Though not so provid-
ed by the Constitution, tax
alton of land has thus been
left to local authorities who
lack any constitutional power
or responsibility in the field
of monetary initiation as af-
fected by taxation and deficit
financing. Congress has per-
sistently ignored the explicit
constitutional b a n against
state sovereignty in this field
and irresponsibly delegated
its constitutional duty in
shaping monetary institutions