Probably the most important annual message delivered in the English-speaking world of science—and it is, indeed, eagerly looked for throughout all the scientific world—is the address of the president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The annual presidential address was delivered by Professor J. J. Thompson, the distinguished British physicist. The whole address1 is well worth perusal by physicians who are interested in general science and by educators of all classes, whether especially interested in science or not.
Though far from pessimistic as to the future, Professor Thompson sees in modern education two tendencies which do not favor the development of investigating scientists and original discoverers—or, indeed, of broad and well-balanced men and women. One is the tendency away from the concrete and practical to mere bookishness; the other is the tendency to premature and excessive specialization.
Professor Thompson's experience has taught him that the mental