Modern inorganic chemistry / by J.W. Mellor.

  • Joseph William Mellor
Date:
1922
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Modern inorganic chemistry / by J.W. Mellor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    “ disciplined imagination has been at the bottom of all great scientific discoveries ” ; and, as W. A. Fiske has said, that “ every hypothesis and law of science is the result of a vivid imagination.” Imagination helps to complete the picture outlined by observation and inference. The picture must, of course, be tested and criticized in every con- ceivable way to make sure that it is not a mirage among the purpled morning clouds to be dispelled by the dawning light. 5. Development of a critical and impartial judgment.—The imagination, though very useful, is a most dangerous ally ; and a sharp line of demarcation must be observed between valid or legiti- mate deductions from the evidence, and what has been supplied by the imagination. Each proposition must be judged solely on its merits. There must be no shirking of the facts, no exaggeration, no distortion of the naked truth. The mind must be kept open and free from prejudice. The student must learn not to prejudge data and phenomena by ideas formed independently of the things themselves. A teacher soon accumulates remarkable examples of the influence of expectation on judgment. If a practical class knows what quanti- tative result “ ought ” to be obtained, it is surprising how much nearer that result the majority will get than if the true result were unknown—and this without dishonest intentions. Rigorous honesty and absolute impartiality in dealing with approved evidence are in- dispensable. A complete absence of bias can alone give reality and meaning to scientific truths. I have to thank several authorities for permission to use a number of quotations and a selection of questions from college examination papers. The source of each is indicated in the text. The original wording of the examination questions has been slightly modified in a very few cases. I have pleasure in thanking a number of friends for reading portions of the proofs. In some cases I have persuaded friends who have specially studied a particular phenomenon or process to glance through the proofs to make sure all is sound. I gratefully acknowledge the help I have consciously and sub-consciously received from the examination and review of a large number of text-books during the past few years. Messrs. A. D. Hold- croft and J„ C. Green have kindly read through the proofs, and I am very grateful for their help. I am also indebted to Mr. F. J. Austin for the photography. J. W. M. Sandon House, Stoke-on-TrenTc April, 1916.
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