SIR ARTHUR KEITH, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., born in Aberdeen, 1866, was
educated at the University of Aberdeen; at University College, London;
and at the University of Leipzig. From 1899 to 1902, he was Secretary of
the Anatomical Society of Great Britain, and was President of the Royal
Anthropological Institute from 1912 to 1914. At present he is Hunterian
Professor and Conservator of Museum, Royal College of Surgeons, London,
and also holds the Fullerian Professorship of Physiology, Royal
Institution of Great Britain and Ireland. Beginning with his
_Introduction to the Study of Anthropoid Apes_ in 1896, he has produced
some ten volumes. Among them are _Human Embryology and Morphology_
(1901); _Ancient Types of Man_ (1911); _The Human Body_ (1912); _Menders
of the Maimed_ (1919); and _Nationality and Race_ (1920). He was
knighted in 1921.
"The Levers of the Human Body" is helpful in illustrating the value of
diagrams and of analogy in the exposition of a mechanism. It may be used
also for teaching the student to adapt his work to the audience, for,
although prepared at first for an immature audience, its material has
since been so adapted that in addition to the general reader it is of
particular interest to the physician and to the engineer.
The series of volumes in which _Modern Methods of Book Composition_
appears, is but one of the distinguished services in improving the
practice of typography rendered by THEODORE LOW DE VINNE (1828-1914). At
his invitation, the chapter, "Mechanical Composition," was contributed
by PHILIP T. DODGE, President of the Mergenthaler Linotype Company.
"The Mergenthaler Linotype," which is taken from Mr. Dodge's chapter, is
well adapted for teaching the correlation of diagrams and text in the
exposition of mechanisms and machines.
Some idea of the length of JEAN HENRI FABRE'S life (1823-1915) may be
obtained when we recall that his place as a scientist was established
early enough for Victor Hugo to refer to him as the "insects' Homer" and
for Darwin to refer to him in _The Origin of Species_ as "that
incomparable observer." By 1841, Fabre had escaped from the poverty of
his boyhood and had qualified as a pupil teacher at the Normal College
at Vaucluse. Later, he became Professor of Physics and Chemistry at the
_lycée_ of Ajaccio and, by 1852, held a similar position at Avignon. The
greater part of his life was spent in the study of insects. The results
are recorded in several volumes. An interesting _Life_, written by the
Abbé Augustin Fabre and translated by Mr. Miall, was published in 1921.
"The Pea Weevil," which offers an example of the exposition of a process
achieved by impersonal narration, should prove especially helpful in
showing the student how interest may be secured in such work.
The J.W. BUTLER PAPER COMPANY, which published the little volume from
which the selection is taken, is recognized as an important factor in
the industry.
"Modern Paper-making" may be utilized in teaching the emphasis placed on
chronological order in the impersonal narration of a process; the
explanation of machines by generalized description in such narration;
and the methods employed in explaining alternate or parallel steps in
the process.
WILLIAM JAMES (1842-1910), like his equally distinguished brother,
received his elementary education in New York City and in Europe. From
1861 to 1863, he studied at the Lawrence Scientific School, Harvard
University, leaving to join the Thayer Expedition to Brazil. He was
graduated in 1870 from the Harvard Medical School and, two years later,
was appointed Instructor in Anatomy and Physiology. In 1885, while
Assistant Professor of Physiology at the Medical School, he was
appointed Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University. His
later work at the University is well-known. Among his published works
are his _Principles of Psychology_ (1889); _The Will to Believe_ (1897);
_The Varieties of Religious Experience_ (1902); _Pragmatism_ (1907);
_Memories and Studies_ (1911); and _Essays in Radical Empiricism_
(1912). His _Letters_, edited by his son, appeared in 1920.
"The Gospel of Relaxation" offers a model in the adaptation of
scientific material to a lay audience, through the way in which the
author makes clear the Lange-James Theory by concrete examples and
practical applications.
CHARLES PROTEUS STEINMETZ (1865-), born in Breslau, Germany, was
educated at Breslau, Berlin, and Zurich. For twenty-five years he has
been Consulting Engineer to the General Electric Company, and for twenty
years Professor of Electro-physics at Union University. Besides several
authoritative volumes on subjects within his field, he is the author of
_America and the New Epoch_ (1906) and is a frequent contributor to
literary as well as to technical journals.
"Science and Religion" may be used to show the student how even so
technical a topic as the Einstein Theory may be rendered concrete for
the general reader through analogy and specific examples.