100 YEARS AGO

So much has been written of late on totemism that I feel some diffidence in burdening still further the literature of the subject. But I may plead a slight claim on your attention, as I happen to be an unworthy member of the Crocodile kin of the Western tribe of Torres Straits, and I have been recognised as such in another island than the one where I changed names with Maino, the chief of Tutu, and thereby became a member of his kin. ... What is most needed at the present time is fresh investigation in the field. Those who are familiar with the literature of the subject are only too well aware of the imperfection of the available records. There are several reasons which account for this. Some of the customs and beliefs associated with totemism have a sacred significance, and the average savage is too reverent to speak lightly of what touches him so deeply. Natives cannot explain their mysteries any more than the adherents of more civilised religions can explain theirs. Further, they particularly dislike the unsympathetic attitude of most inquirers, and nothing shuts up a native more effectually than the fear of ridicule.

From Nature 2 October 1902.

50 YEARS AGO

The attitude of the general science graduate to experiments involving subjective judgments is curious and illogical, even if understandable. He is taught throughout his study period to believe that those things which he measures during the course of his 'practical work' are facts, inviolable and true. ... Above all, he believes in the dogma of Kelvin, that we must measure to be able to understand. He rarely succeeds in grasping the principles of uncertainty in physical measurement, and many years may pass before he realizes that all measurement demands a judgment on the compromise between accuracy and expediency. As a result, he dismisses all experiments which involve direct subjective judgements as being 'vague and inaccurate'. This dogmatic attitude is not confined to the young graduate. It finds its way into higher levels, where great efforts are made to develop physical analogues to supplant the human observer in a perceptual situation. Consequently, it happens that the experimenter who uses human subjects as indicators finds it necessary to go to unusual lengths to explain his means as well as his ends.

From Nature 4 October 1952.