A NALVTICAL CHEMISTRY EDITORIAL
March 1968,Vol. 40, No. 3 Editor:
H E R B E R T A. LAITINEN
EDITORIAL HEADQUARTERS Wasb$gton, D. C. 20036 1155 Sixteenth St N.W. Phone: 202-737-2337 Teletype WA 23 Associate Editor:
John K. Crum
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Joseph Jacobs
Production Manager: B a d Guiley A r t and Layouf: Norman W. Favin, Herbert Kuttner Production Staff-Easton, Pa.: Associate Editor:
Charlotte C. Sayre
Assistant Editor:
Elizabeth R. Rufe
Advisor Board: C. V. Banks, R., G. Bates, W Blaedel, S. Bruckenstem, A. E. Cameron Lyman Craig Henry Freiser, Marcel Golay, Joseph ’Jordan, D. W. Margerum R. A. Osteryoun R. L. Pecsok, C.’N. Reilley, D. H. Wikins AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS Director of Publications, Richard L. Kenyon Director of Business Operations, Joseph H. Kuney Publication Manager, Journals, David E. Gushee Executive Assistant to the Director of Publications, Rodney N. Hader Circulation Development Manager, Herbert C. Spencer Assistant to the Director of Publications, William Q. Hull REGIONAL EDITORIAL BUREAUS N E W YORK, N. Y. 1001.7 733 Third Ave. PHILADELPHIA Pa. 19107 Philadelphia National Bank Building Broad & Chestnut Streets PITTSBURGH Pa. 15219 530 William Pedn Place CHICAGO Ill. 60603 36 South Wabash Ave. CLEVELAND, Ohio 44114 1367 East Sixth St. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. 94104 57 Post St. LOS ANGELES, Calif. 90005 422 South Western Ave. HOUSTON, Texas 77002 514 Main Bldg. 1212 Main St. FRANKFURT/MAIN, West Germany 32 Grosse Bockenheimerstrasse England LONDON, W. C. 27 John Adam St. TOKYO Japan Iikura Ckntral Building, 4th Floor 12 Iikura Kata-machl, Azabu Minato-ku: Tokyo WASHINGTON D. C 20036 1155 Sixteenth Si.,N. W.
“The Establishment” in Science we hear a coinplaint t h a t science has built around itself a closed society into which it is impossible to penetrate without the formal credentials of degrees from respected institutions of higher learning, association with established research institutions, and membership in learned societies. Such complaints generally originate, naturally enough, from individuals who lack these formal credentials and who feel that their ideas have no chance of acceptance because the scientific journals, being operated by “the establishment” mill ignore ideas from the outside. It would, indeed, be a serious indictiiient of the system if there were any appreciable substance to such complaints. The modern systein of scientific publication has developed from Lhe need for communication among research workers. Such conimunications, a t first primarily carried out by personal correspondence, developed into meetings of scientific academies where differences of opinion could be debated. A natural outgrowth of such meetings was a written record of the proceedings, which gradually emerged into the scientific literature as we know it today. The essence of this system is that a scientific contribution is accepted as a n honest representation of the truth in the best judgment of the author, as supported by evidence t h a t is subject to the examination of other scientists. The scientific reputation of an individual rests on the significance of his contributions t h a t have stood the test of experimental and theoretical examination. The “establishment” of science is precisely the fabric of knowledge, ranging from the highly tentative to the firmly established. .4ny scientist will acknowledge that the difference in these extremes ib merely a difference of degree, and t h a t the entire structure of knowledge is subject to continual re-examination. The system of review of manuscripts by one’s peers before acceptance for publication is one t h a t has developed with the growing complexity of science. It serves the authors, editors, and readers in providing a safeguard against an innocent or willful disregard for the past literature. It is characteristic of the amateur or “extra-establishment” contribution that his work attacks one of the “firmly established” ideas without properly acknowledging and considering the evidence t h a t led to its acceptance. It is not merely a custom or rule that dictates the procedure, but the very substance of the scientific method. It happens t h a t it is unlikely in today’s society for significant contributions to be made by someone lacking the customary credentials, but there is nothing inherent in the system that would deny this possibility.
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For submission of manuscripts, see page 2 A . VOL. 40, NO. 3, MARCH 1968
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