Mathematics and Science at Cambridge

Abstract

To those who have at heart the advancement of scientific knowledge in Great Britain it is impossible but to acknowledge that the country owes a profound debt of gratitude to the University of Cambridge. During the dark ages of education her colleges formed the stronghold of modern culture; and the principle was there maintained that to the students of dead languages, however paramount they might be without her walls, within them no more than equal rights should be conceded. This involved a contest in which the principals were the mathematicians and classics, and the terms of peace a system of specialisation coupled with a certain test examination, an inquisitorial farce known as the Little-Go. This system, adopted doubtless in order to obviate the difficulty of forming a combined curriculum of studies which appealed to totally dissimilar tastes, has since been so widely extended in its application as to divorce subjects which are germane in character and naturally adapted for a close alliance. The climax is reached in the ever-growing barrier which separates mathematics from natural science, and which is year by year made more impassable by the examinations for entrance scholarships. These are of high value; and without this aid from the funds which the college authorities hold in trust for educational purposes many a brilliant man would be unable to consummate his work at school by a university career. It is, therefore, necessary that school curricula should be arranged in strict accordance with their requirements.