Abstract
LIEUT.-COLONEL MOORE-BRABAZON has fallen into a common error of thought when he says that a politician who ensures a milk supply deserves more of his fellow men than does the inventor of the quantum theory1. The boy who posts a lighted squib in a pillar box commits the same offence whether the pillar box is empty or is filled with an unusually important mail. The fact that an action does not seem to the majority to be of immediate consequence is no guide to its importance. Colonel Moore-Brabazon's hypothetical politician will be deserving of the severest censure if he does not ensure the necessary milk supply, provided always that he is aware that our state of mechanical and scientific development is such as to make it possible; he deserves no credit for doing what is simply his job.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
NATURE, 147, 544 (1941).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
JONES, R. “The Man of Science as Aristocrat”. Nature 147, 677 (1941). https://doi.org/10.1038/147677a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/147677a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.