IS GERMAN SCIENCE OVERRATED?

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2579, 29 September 1915, Page 13

IS GERMAN SCIENCE OVERRATED?

■ ''-Dlsoussirig'tlio question of Germany's' scientific attainments, m tho light of Sir William Ramsay's recent protest against- tho exaggerated views on tho subject generally - prevailing, a correspondent of tho "Engineer", mites: "Cabinet Ministers are not alono in according too 1 high a value to the results laboriously achieved by the scientists of •a race which seems to find 110 lino of inquiry too tedious to exhaust its pertinacious industry. Men of scientific eminence and well-earned reputations for sagacity'have often been'similar)}:"' deceived. An infinte capacity for taking pains is not always synonymous with genius; but the mere mass of tho com-' piled results of Gorman research makes it difficult to believe that so much accurate; work could'possibly have _ been based'.- by men , of- obvious intelligence upon: p'remisesv 'sb lacking in common sense-as" t<j- ; be absolutelyuseless.'' - At, the.'-sa.nio-:'time;continues the writer, .it would be foolish to .deny the. Germans their dues or to pretend that there is not much that we can learn from them.- "British engineers have much to learn from a close study of German work and iriethods, and possibly not a little to unlearn. We'cannot expect to acquire new national'characteristics to order,:or. to emulate in a few months tho widespread taste for tedious scientific work to which Germany owes so much; but we can at-lcast ascertain whether the characteristics which wo do possess are;.beingKsdequately employed. In the world-races :'oL business aiid progress wo are notoriously slow in'gettingoff the mark;' i :land* v .#». frequently .ncea; tho incentive elf another nation forging ahead in-order to induce us fully .'t<> extend our pc«vers;"^-y; : :' , %;■'