A scientist at the recent meeting of the British Association stated that there was no latent power in the atom. Hence vanishes one of the dreams of scientific cranks and other fantastic characters who for years past have regaled the public with ungarnished tosh about propelling Atlantic liners and aircraft with the latent energy in an atom of this or that, and driving motor cars at incredible speeds with engines no larger than pins’ heads. The unfortunate aspect of these scientific fantasies, especially when they emanate from those who are considered “scientists”, is that school-masters pass them on to their students and so add to the list of things which must be “unlearned”. As well, they are bruited about by large headlines in daily papers, which seldom report on a simple happening without making a mistake.
The associateion named could help to remedy this state of affairs by considerably tightening up the rules of membership. The mere presentation of a thesis (which may or may not be original) should not be sufficient to enable its compiler to call himself “Doctor”.