From the Editor's Desk.......... The Last
Frontier
When I received t h e letter from "Kris" Krister which occupies the column this week, I had already read Roger Williams' "The Human Frontier" (314 pages, liarcourt, Brace & Company, 3S3 Madison Ave., New York 17, X." V., 194G, S3>. It had impressed m e as much as it had impressed "Kris*', anil it had occurred t.«» me that this rather unusual book by ;t scientist marks something; of a milepost in the progress of science It certainly deserves the sincere enthusiasm and de«»p thought that it receives i n this "review"
D e a r Walt : N o t long ago you informed a large radio au'dience that y o u belong to the "League of Frightened Men". Even a s you and I, Roger Williams, prominent ACS member, belongs. Williams, however, has not thrown in the spong;e. I n his new book "The Human Frontier", he makes a significant attempt to point the way out of modern man's crisis. Man has been able to conquer the material frontier. But he is slave t o t h e social organization forced upon him in order to conquer nature. He has come to understand that he can control the production of almost anything that he desires. But obviously he is controlled by that super-production machine. He is gaining a clear picture of his relationship to nature and has that relationship under his thumb. B u t he doesn't and cannot understand his relationship t o other men, to society. Consequently, he is not able to control that relationship; on the contrary, we see him disastrously controlled by it. While his relationship to the material things is clarified by science and technology, his relationship to his fellow men is still covered with obfuscation and mystification. Men no longer fear nature as they have in the past. B u t they still fear their fellow men as much a s ever. The world's social problems and the crisis modern man faces are centered i n man's cultures and their interactions, and man's developmental progress. To overcome those fears, in order t o conquer the last frontier, "the human frontier", Williams proposes that we conduct a s t u d y with all the resources at our command, of ourselves, our o w n worst enemy. That study must be made b y the scientific method, using all the tools and knowledge of all the sciences, including t h e natural sciences, psychology, and perhaps even sociology. 1474
To do this necessitates development of a new applied science, that of human ios Williams' approach is a calm, reasoned and well-seasoned one. H e calls for a serious study of men's natures; n o t the average man's, however. Attention must be t urned away from t h e robot, t h e statistical man, and focused o n the individual. T h e roots of many conflicts and problems lie in differences i n appearance, differences in opinions, in attitudes, a n d in behavior on the part of members of t h e human family. But w e need not fear those differences. We must seek to clarify and use them to the benefit a n d strength of society. According t o Williams, hurnanics will be of a practical nature having as its o b jective the development of all possible information a n d insights, with t h e ultimate goal being social welfare, and maximum development of every individual. The first half of t h e book then enables a person to know w h y and what he is, and why he behaves as he docs. The second half is concerned mainly with the applica-
tions of the proposed science of hurnanics to social problems. Williams points out that a better knowledge of humans will influence all types of human activity and discusses the effect on problems of marriage, education, religion, medicine, government, criminology, and international relations. T h e ultimate application of hurnanics is also discussed—its use for development of the proper leaders for society. Williams stresses that science cannot tell us where to g o or w h y but i t can tell us much about where we must start and how we can travel toward the goal once we have sot it. Twenty 3-ears ago a chemist who had written a book a s popular as Williams' "Introduction to Organic Chemistry" would have stuck t o his text and contented himself with research, papers, teaching, and an occasional revision of his initia) hit. B u t now in this second year of t h e atomic bomb, chemists are doing s o m e hard thinking about t h e human problems that confront modern man. Williams, quietly and without fuss, throws out t o humanity an applied science, hurnanics, a s the life belt. If this book does nothing else it should help the individual chemist t o a n understanding of himself, his relationships w i t h his management, his fellow chemists, his SOCIETY, and his family. C. J. K R I S T E R
Wilmington,
Del.
Letters to thetac Editor Sdttwt Kudos D E A R SIR:
Thank you for running the article "Biochemical Individuality" b y Roger J. Williams in t h e April 21, 1917, issue. Such a n article deserves wide reading, especially by those intent o n reforming others and making them conform t o their preconceived patterns. D r . Williams' outlook is the exact opposite of totalitarianism. H e is a t his best when he states: 'Our troubles arise from within ourselves." How few of u s have the maturity and the perspective t o see that simple fact. R O B E R T J.
PATTERSON
Xew York, iV. Y. Radiation
Health
Hasanl
D E A R SIR:
I have read with considerable interest the report of a talk given b y Charles P. Cabell on nuclear energy power plants in the Feb. 17 issue of CHEMICAL A N D E N GINEERING N E W S . In t h i s discussion Mr.
Cabell mentioned t h e necessity of having men of an entirely new profession, whom he called health instrument engineers, to survey nuclear energy plants for radiation hazards. I should like to point out to y o u that it is not necessary t o establish a new profession to take care of hazards to C H EMIC AL
personnel that m a y exist around future nuclear power installations. State industrial hygiene divisions already exist in all of the important industrial areas of this country. These groups are charged with the protection of workers from occupational hazards in all industries and will undoubtedly have t h e responsibility of guarding against hazards to personnel that will be encountered in t h e field of nuclear energy. Therefore, industrial h y gienists with special training in this subject will be the ones who will evaluate radiation hazards in t h e future. The industrial hygiene division of t h e U. S. Public Health Service is charged with the responsibility of advising and assisting the various state industrial h y giene divisions in these problems. In order t o c a n y out this responsibility w e have a t present medical and engineering personnel trained in the detection and evaluation of radiation hazards. W e will continue t o train additional personnel as the need develops and are endeavoring t o keep in touch with the various problems presented by the use of radioactive isotopes. Other groups in the Public Health Service are also preparing to cope with t h e phases of nuclear energy applications which will come under their jurisdiction. For example, personnel from t h e stream AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
