N.Z. UNIVERSITY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2114, 3 April 1914, Page 9

N.Z. UNIVERSITY.

PROFESSOR PIGKEN AND MR. . VON HA AST. (To tiio Editor.) Sir,—l proposo to deal in - considerable detail,with Mr. Von Haast's long letter in-yesterday's Dominion. First of alt, "I wish ,to express pleasure that thero lias >at last come forward one who has been prepared ,to put his own name'to the kind of thing that letter contains. On many.previous . occasions 'my. hands ' have • been tied through: adherence to tlio essential principle of ignoring auony moils ■ personal attacks. ■ , . . I regret that Mr., von Haast has not been able, to "play the game" lijce a. man. His prized identification with the. University of New' Zealand must bearonus, of'responsibility (1)' f-br tlio cheap trick of out odd phrases, and burlesquing thom by reiteration so asto misrepresent tlio.case actually put;(2) forytho fact that lie has personallyinsulted me by stating publicly (the second time, too, withm.i a 1 few weeks) that I apparently regard myself as "not in tho roll of common men." That is the • sort of th'irig to which' a man may not directly .reply. ' , :V ; '

. Tho letter'seems:to. me a : porfect ex ample of that which I-havo. stated t< be.tho bugbear;of Uniyorsity. work, ii New Zealand, viz., calm confidence,-<ii the part of certain men who happen t< servo on responsible University bodies iu .their 'person'al 'c'iipacity to'deal sum marily' with- most , difficult * educitiona questions, with which actually they x hav( only the' 1 remotest' acquaintance. Tw< matters, upon which' -Mr.' von Haast'f knowledge*is so trivial; as to be worst than ignorance, are thus confident!} dealt with.in tho letter:'(l) The sciencc of mathematics; (2) .the nature of'my teaching work:' As to the former,'-, is, it not ; almost beyond- belief that this member of the legal rankuand .file l , should. set; himself out to admonish, on liis viows.bf mathematics, 0110 whose profession Is mathematics, and who has. devoted, most of his •energies'for some twenty years to'getting an;inside -View of what'that'subject means^iiv,all its bearings, in' order to be able'to. teach it to the limit of hi 3 capacity ? AVe are, I presume,' to understand that' tho : intuition of .this mentor, of, minaprovides him ready-made a clearer idea ;of, tho present'.state of the science, and of its' , possibilities, than a .life'sMvork (so far as tile life, has gone) which has; been spent, in; the effort to .'discover just those very things and apply them; to teaching' university students. / ' ; ~-v ; ■ • This, brings , mo to the most extraordinary feature of the lottery viz., that several long and wordy paragraphs are devoted to the thesis that 'I pursue my 'own research lyork ,• regardless of tho interests of my, stiiden'ts.'.- This-"in face of what I conceived to 'be'a perfectly' plain statement to the .effect'that all my research has; been . devoted to what I most earnestly"; believo; to: be the very highest interests of my. students: ."developing ijiy subject,yes; but developi"S 11 before m y students' eyes In order hrm,Ph oy 'f t,la f h /!. ow 11 throu Sh and inrougn, if. only they care-to try. And t would bcg leavo.to say, above all; that l am willing to yield to none ii my ambition to ; give tho "rank and file of the University ;'army a . sound grounduig in. tho .principles of - the sub- : jept, and. •.. such a training as will enable them-to" turn their-learning to practical account": in fact, "to teach that subject so as to fit. my students ;?/' ,™P»r. subsequent, careers in : after lire, ,_be.it. as surveyor, oriengineer, or electrician, or what Dot. May I , remind Mr. Von Haast that'l' mo .5?,. . 'Motherland I fonie'Teputatioh in this very regard, a reputation which, I believe, any soiind test' will show to nave been more ; than'maintained by : my work in -New Zealand?.'.' But of iVimt use to talk 'of "sound tests' to 'this typo, of amateurin. education?' ; 'Mio\only'test they understand is. the written, examination: Otherwise full' of contumely for me and -all my works, Mr. Von Haast stops' to raise : ;his . hat in .respect for the fact that I 1 was once "sixth wrangler"—a triviality of one's boyhood which one forgets' except l when'" it is? waited' for State occasions.

Coming 'to .tho second count, my monitor informs tho public that it ,is my .whim ,to _ specialise ' 'in a : ' branch of philosophical mathematics/ considered from au abstract view"—-a wonderful example of meaningless verbiage. Frankly,- sir, I have,'to. admit that here Mr. Von Haast gets out of my depth. But it happens that vagufe-charges of the sort have been ,made before; and that I have in'my possession a'serviceable instrument for dealing with them,. In September, ■ ;1912, an' anonymous writer, signing' himself "A Successful Coaching ,'Hack;" made an attack upon mo in tho "New "Zealand Heraldj". denouncing -me' for teaching a, 1 'philosophy' of' mathematics," ' and casting , certain exceedingly vague : reflections (like Mr. Von Haast's) upon the nature of my work. l It happened that this onslaught came under the notice of one'of those "pass men" ■of initio whom Mr. ' Von .Eaast wafts aside with so contemptuous a flourish "of his pen (a point to which-1 shall return)': and ho succeeded in silencing myjasisaiiant's guns at the cost of only two rounds of ammunition. The student in 'question .was Mr. L. P. Leary, whoso specif subject was philosophy; and who happened at that time to . do'.staying in Auckland. With his consent,! quote tho''following passage from tho final letter of_ that correspondence, the whole of which I enclose for your information:— r >''The Professor and Coach," October, 5, .1912, . "New Zealand' Herald." • He , Itlie:, anonymous :'. writer] states'that'''the Professor,' instead of teaching the 'science and art' of mathematics ; prescribed , in the/calendar, teaches soino 'p'hiloso- . phy' of mathematics,- '.saying ho moans by this speculation after tlio ' : style,, of Pythagoras' and Leibniz, , ■ adapted, to tlio Professor's caprice. This statement, on the .part,of tho coach I emphatically assert to, bo in- ~ correct, .lt .iY without . , even tlio. slightest foundation ~of " fact.' / . . .1 challenge 'A Successful Coaching Hack' to namo any one poilit where tho Professor encroaches on .-metaphysical grounds- Pnv fessor Picken begins with the pri- :... wary process of counting, _nrid then, „ by the most careful scientific deduction and definition of terms, ho works' up-tho 'whole lofty striicturo of mathematical science, i All his 'theory'-'has a direct, practical bearing, and ho .'refers to i£ -ill' every-problem. . /'] . ' ~

Perhaps you 'will'agree''that a defence' liko that from , a student .of not much more tban average mathematical ability is some vindication of ~ success in teaching! At least you. will understand how pleasing it was (and is) to one ivho lias been mdst unfairly vilified since the day he sot himself to do that, duty by' tlio State for wliicli ho conceives himself to liave been engaged. Tho .remainder of Mr. Von Haast's letter must wait a day or two. It is all good material for University reform purposes. But unfortunately my neglect, of a Professor's proper' duties runs'mo into from/twelve to fifteen ,-hours of College work per day at present—and no "week-ends ' at,that. —I ahi,;ctc., •' 1). K. PICKEN. April 2, 1914.' . . |