An introduction to the study of medicine : a lecture delivered at the opening of the medical session of 1871-72, in King's College, London / by William Rutherford, M.D.

  • William Rutherford
Date:
1871
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introduction to the study of medicine : a lecture delivered at the opening of the medical session of 1871-72, in King's College, London / by William Rutherford, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    to see, hear, and feel the actions that take place within the apparatus. We would dissect it in order to find out its structure. We would subject it to chemical processes with a view to ascertain its chemical composi- tion. We would not however content ourselves with merely observing the action of the watch. We would not merely look at it, or listen to it, but we would try experiments, because the method of experimentation is very much more powerful than that of simple obser- vation, in enabling us to ascertain the causes which give rise to events. In our experiments we might study the effect of removing certain parts of the appar- atus, we might alter the regulator, give the hands a twist, put a sj3oke in some wheel, and so on. We would notice the results of our experiments, and if we were wise, we would as speedily as possible record them in black and white and not trust them to our memories which unfortunately are in any case often most treach- erous. The facts ascertained by observation and experi- ment, would serve as starting-points for ideas. We would use them as stepping-stones to get at an under- standing of the machine. It would obviously be a very unfortunate business, if any mistakes were made by us in our observations and experiments. Suppose that from hasty observation, we concluded that the minute hand does not move twelve times as fast as the hour hand. Suppose that we moved the regulator to the one side or to the other, and from careless observa- tion, declared that no effect is produced upon the speed of the machine's movement, we would utterly fail to arrive at right conclusions regarding the instrument.
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