the ANALYST'S | column •
HILE
L.T.Hallett, Editor
there
can
be no
W physics nor conservative
socialist
biology, this does not mean that the scientist has no role to play in the field of politics. This was the theme of an interesting talk on science and politics given by Sir Hugh Linstead, secretary to the Pharmaceutical Society (Great Britain) before the annual general meeting of the Society for Analytical Chemistry. Sir Hugh, who has had a lifelong in terest in pharmacy and politics, feels that there is an appropriate role for the scientist in the full field of politics embracing the whole life of the com munity. As the discoverer of new things, the scientist must also interpret them. All too often, Sir Hugh stated, the scientist writes off the politician as someone before whom scientific pearls are cast in vain because the politician is more concerned with what is popular than with what is right.' Where this is true, the scientist has the duty of offer ing advice according to the highest standards of scientific objectivity. Since the politician is responsive to the views of the man in the street, the scientist must "sell" his discoveries to the public. Selling scientific ideas to the public is no problem, as people are eager to buy. Science has provided the man in the street with so many miracles, that there is an insatiable demand for more. It is necessary for the scientist to help out the politician by revealing the meaning of new discoveries, their limi tations, and particularly the unpopular or even disastrous implications. These ideas must be presented in such an in teresting manner as to attract and hold the public attention and still be ob jective. Sir Hugh summed up his ideas by quoting from a statement of Lord Halsbury, who said: The responsibilities of scientists for the moral consequences of their work must be shared with the community. Any discovery can be put to good or evil use. It does not appear to me that scientists can do more as scientists than explain as clearly as possible to the rest of the community where the possibilities
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•
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ANALYST'S COLUMN for evil latent in any of their discov eries really lie. The issue is, therefore, whether they do this effectively or in effectively. I believe that scientists would do this more effectively if they could speak on political issues with more authority. I believe this author ity would come best from the exercise of a self-denying ordinance in political matters—namely, by dissociating them selves from any political party what ever and behaving as public servants are expected to behave. Gas Chromatograms. Should gas chromatograms be recorded showing the time axis reading from right to left? The following note from a sci entist in New England raises this point. On the cover of the February issue of
ANALYTICAL
CHEMISTRY
there is
reproduced a record of a gas chromatogram. Examination of this record shows that the time axis reads from right to left. At a recent instrument show the otherwise excellent commer cial gas chromatography instruments on display all had this feature incorporated in their recorders. In view of the fact that at least one commercial instrument of foreign manufacture and probably not a few "homemade" models present records with the time axis in the normal left to right occidental fashion, this may be the proper time to urge that this design error be corrected. Let us not be backward in this matter. Having no strong views on the sub ject, one way or the other, we dis cussed this subject with several in strument people at the recent Pitts burgh Conference on Analytical Chem istry and Applied Spectroscopy. Opin ion there was fairly well divided. Wc, therefore, merely wish to present the idea for consideration. Selenium. The question as to whether there is a shortage of selenium continues to arise. The Analyst's Col umns for last September and Decem ber discussed this question and reported conflicting views. Another letter has been received from a college professor in Wyoming, who states that a federal agency can celed a project to develop selenium on the basis that commercial supplies were now ample. He states, however, that he has been unable to buy one ounce of a selenium salt from any supply house. His experience, he says, is matched by that of a graduate student who was unable to obtain selenium compounds for an experiment with cattle.
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•
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