"THE FLINT AND STEEL OF MIND ON MIND"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 500, 21 January 1949, Page 6

"THE FLINT AND STEEL OF MIND ON MIND"

EXT month New Zealand will play host to a large number of distinguished visitors when some 400 scientists from many parts of the world meet for the Seventh Pacific Science Congress. Some of them, like Sir Peter Buck, the self-exiled New Zea-’ lander who is director of the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, are well known to the public; others are familiar only to those interested in the subjects in which they have specialised. And some of the topics they will discuss, such as dental caries among Pacific peoples, will be only too well known, on a_’ practical

plane at least, to many, while others (problems of eustatism in the Pacific Basin, and animals pathogens and their vectors in’ the Pacific, for instance) will convey little to most of us. But neither a listing of those taking part in the Congress nor a schedule of the subjects to be discussed will give the non-scientist anything more than a very hazy idea of what the conference is about. Therefore -The Listener approached Dr. Gilbert Archey, director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, who is Secretary-General to the Congress, to explain in general terms why it is being held and what results may be expected from it. The principal aim of Congress as laid down in its constitution was, he said, "to initiate and promote co-operation in the study of scientific problems relating to

the Pacific region, more particularly those affecting the prosperity and wellbeing of Pacific peoples." How did Congress implement this aim? : First, by planning the co-ordination of research, and secondly by investigating specific problems, which might be either practical problems, whose solution would be of immediate interest to the world, or fundamental, theoretical questions, which were apparently of purely academic interest. Fundamental Problems "The community expects scientific research to result in increased food, decreased disease and the exploitation of economic resources for its benefit. Sometimes the scientist, from motives of curiosity, pursues subjects which the general public would probably consider remote from general interest, yet there are still many occasions when a scientist in

applying himself directly to agricultural and economic problems finds himself driven back deep down into funda@ mental problems of what happens and how it happens.. And some of these fundamental problems, although they may appear to have a peculiar interest to a particular branch of science, often are of much wider importance." To illustrate his remarks Dr. Archey pointed out that geologists at the Congress were going to deliberate on how mountains were formed and how waves worked. There would be detailed mathematical analyses of the movement of sea waves. Seismic waves were involved because seismograms recorded constant

minute earth tremors which it was now understood were being caused by distant sea storms. All this had a bearing upon the fundamental question of how mountains were formed and why waves worked, but it also had a bearing upon the immediate practical problem of earthquakes, for the results of the fundamental research would assist the seismologists in forecasting earthquakes and in enabling architects and engineers to build earthquake-resisting structures in earthquake areas. Co-ordination Essential To-day science was so complex that the co-ordination of research was essential and to plan this was one of the main purposes of the Congress. Cooperation was necessary not only between countries but also between

different branches of science, and at the first session of Congress each division would appoint a research planning committee. It was hoped that these plans would be drawn up by the end of the Auckland session so that they could be discussed at the first Christchurch meeting. Then the results of all the discussions would be handed to a Congress research eommittee (representative of each scientific division) and its report would be discussed at the last plenary session of Congress. So important was this work, which many of the scientists concerned had been studying for the past year in preparation for the Congress, that Dr. Archey anticipated a number of the scientists would absent themselves from the Congress meetings to devote their full effort to the research plan problem. Because _ scientific problems were world-wide in their complexity, although -this was a Pacific Congress concerned

with the application of science in the Pacific, it was not surprising to find a world interest in the Congress. Such world organisations as Unesco and the Food ~ and Agricultural Organisation were sending representatives, while individual European countries, besides the Pacific ones, were sending delegates. European interest stemmed not only from the fact that several European countries had administrative responsibility for Pacific areas, but also resulted from their having sent scientific expeditions to the Pacific. In consequence, some of the European scientists possessed a knowledge which was invaluable to the deliberations of the Congress. More Rapid Progress It might be thought, Dr. Archey continued, that much trouble and expense would be saved and the same ends gained by scientists exchanging their ideas through publications and by correspondence instead of travelling thousands of miles to a conference. Certainly scientific papers were being continually distributed, but thére was a lag of approximately a year between the writing of a

thesis and its publication, so that this means of exchanging information was slow. Then, too, misunderstandings and misinterpretations which arise could be immediately cleared up at a conference, while the fire and light produced from the flint and steel of mind on mind when men of similar interest were thrown together. for a month meant that progress was achieved much more rapidly than would ever be possible by correspondence and _ the exchange of publications. At the same time, Congress was seized with the importance of the quick dissemination of publications. It was hoped that an abstract of every paper to be presented to Congress would be available in. duplicated form before Congress opened and that a summarised report on the deliberations would be published very shortly after the conclusion of the conference. Later a full report would be brought out in book form. Finally, Dr. Archey was. asked who provided the funds for Congress and why was the conference divided into two sessions, one in Auckland, and one in Christchurch? : Each Congress was financed by the country acting as host. In the case this year of New Zealand a grant of £10,000 had been made by the Government. This was supplemented by New Zealand members of Congress giving a £1 subscription and by certain interested bodies contributing funds. In Auckland, for instance, the cost of providing hospitality and entertainment for the guests would be met from moneys provided by the Auckland University College and the Auckland Institute, The Congress was divided into two sessions because it was considered that one week of formal deliberation at a time was sufficient, and the two locations were chosen so that visitors would have time to see as much as possible of the country and its people. Furthermore, the break between sessions allowed a certain amount of unhurried discussion and this\made for successful deliberations.