Notes on the composition of scientific papers / by T. Clifford Allbutt.

  • Allbutt, T. Clifford (Thomas Clifford), 1836-1925.
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Notes on the composition of scientific papers / by T. Clifford Allbutt. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

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    That we do not always succeed in teaching the student to think is but too evident in his bewilderment when he has to find a subject for an essay. Now, it is true that the proper choice of a subject is a difficult matter, one in which few candidates can be independent of the assistance of their elders; yet too often the student is bewil- dered, not in his choice of one among the infinite number of subjects calling for inquiry, but in his contentment with current formulas, in his lack of perception of the immaturity of our science, the hollowness of much of our knowledge, and the solidity of much of our ignorance. Students who have attended my lectures may remember that I try not only to teach them what we know, but also to realise how little this is: in every direction we seem to travel but a very short way before we are brought to a stop; our eyes are opened to see that our path is beset with doubts, and that even our best-made knowledge comes but too soon to an end. In every chapter arises problem after problem to beckon us on to farther investigation; yet this way and that we are so baffled by darkness and ignorance that to choose one of these problems for attack, one which is likely to repay his labour, is often beyond the scope of a junior candi- date, of a candidate for the degree of M.B. for example; and it is not easy for me to help him, as I may help a candidate for M.D. The subject for M.B. and like junior exercises must be comparatively simple, the materials easily accessible, and the research straightforward. In