EDITORIAL
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The More Things Change ... f a scholar probes deeply into a small section of the subject,
Ihe is fairly certain to mistrust, as superficial, the man who ranges more widely. The latter, in turn, will think the specialist “ * * *
lacking in vision or what is called reach. By knowing ever more about ever less, he will seem to risk becoming quite ignorant. Those who are mathematically inclined see others as in retreat from rigor. The others think those who manipulate symbols impractical. The statisticians believe those who prove points deductively to be dangerously intuitive. But, by their colleagues, those who are controlled by numbers are often thought unduly cautious or even dull. . . . . “But we must remind ourselves that specialization is a scientific convenience, not a scientific virtue. I t allows, among other things, the use of a wider spectrum of talent. . . .Specialization also permits an indispensable division of scientific labor and allows for the development of subcultures of scholarship in which participants are known to each other, communicate readily, and from cooperation, competition, criticism, and scholarly recrimination deepen their knowledge of their own subject matter. .” What scientist, do you suppose, said that? Surprisingly enough, it was not a scientist but John Kenneth Galbraith, an economist. The science he was talking about is economics, but the thoughts, even the words, have a familiar ring. So also does this little tidbit, also from his book T h e N e w Industrial State: “ I t is exceedingly fortunate for the psychic health of the profession that inadequacy lies so uniformly in others. The situation in the other social sciences is said to be equally satisfactory.’ ’ Galbraith has even more to say: “The world to its discredit does not divide neatly along the lines that separate the specialists. These lines were drawn in the first instance by deans, department chairmen, or academic committees. They were meant to provide guidance in appointing professors, establishing courses, and supporting research. Excellent though the architects were, they cannot be credited with a uniquely valid view of the segments into which society naturally divides itself. And if they could there would still be danger that the specialist, in concentrating on his specialty, would deny himself knowledge that could only be had from outside. , , ” These thoughts, so relevant to our world of chemical technology, are intriguing by virtue of the similarity of social scientists’ problems to our own, as well as the similarity of the human characteristics displayed. But they are also relevant to those who are distressed about the Final Report on the Goals of Engineering Education, with which we are all now familiar. Galbraith says, from his world, that any specialty field must always be redressing the balance between specialization and generalization, between the penetrating view and the broad view. I n one way, it is comforting to learn that our problems are not unique. O n the other hand, it is not so comforting to realize that the economists haven’t solved theirs, and, in fact, most of them don’t even recognize them. I
VOL. 6 0
NO. 5
MAY 1968
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