CLASSICS OR SCIENCE

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 223, 15 June 1921, Page 9

CLASSICS OR SCIENCE

WHICH IS MORE NECESSARY ? A SCIENTIST’S VIEWS At a luncheon held by the newlyformed Rotary Club of Wellington, in the Y.M.C.A. rooms yesterday, Professor E. Marsden delivered an address on "Science and the Public.*’ Professor Marsden said that the question for his hearers as business men was how far they were prepared to admit the principles of science in their affairs. If they were prepared to admit the principle, were they ready to appoint a scientist to investigate their affairs, and to pay him for his work? He was afraid that the commercial world had not much room at (present for science. Moreover, if they appointed a scientist, and paid him, would they take notice of what he said? He was afraid the answer was in the negative. A case in point was the Coal Control Board. No attempt was made to secure the economical use of coal rather than more rapid mining. The whole attitude of the board was unscientific, and it was the fault of the public, with its lack of appreciation of scientific questions. Whenever a committee was set up to inquire into any technical ma ■- ter, it should appoint the best scientific expert available te assist it. There wa» an utter lack of realisation of the importance of scientific method. The reason probably lay in the schools. In the primary schools science was allotted f.wo hours a week; and was starved in respect to equipment. Tn the secondary schools from two to four hours a week were, spent in teaching science in many branches. The science masters were, looked down upon and regarded as nuisances; they had not sufficient time to prepare for their work, and the equipment could not be used at its best value. Far more. time was devoted te Latin than te science, and for this, he. feared, the University was te blame. In the University entrance scholarship examination the marks awarded for Latin and other languages were far higher than could be obtained for science; 600 were awarded for Latin; 500 for Greek; 400 for French; and 300 each for two science subjects. A boy was thus pushed along the lines of classical education. In. New Zealand Latin was regarded as essential for medicine and 1 dentistry; it was not necessary even for medicine in Edinburgh. It paid, in time and nwney, under the present system, te take the classical course, and enter tho professions of medicine or law. Tho technical professions were starved. The remedy was insistence on the part, of the public that more attention should be given to science. ■ The position was becoming critical, and something should be done te- give the boys a more fundamental training in scientific principle.; An indication of cha need was the fact that in the next twenty vears the use of electricitv would bo greatly developed and widely used, while no effort was being made to train nen to use it properly.