Henry David Thoreau Quotes
But what is quackery? It is commonly an attempt to cure the diseases of a man by addressing his body alone. There is need of a physician who shall minister to both soul and body at once, that is, to man. Now he falls between two stools.
Thoreau, Henry David. The Writings of Henry David Thoreau: Journal I, 1837-1846. Edited by Bradford Torrey, Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1906, p. 320.
Huntington, one of the better known political scientists had been nominated for admission as a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. He was generally considered a shoe-in. However, some of his research had used extensive mathematical analysis to prove his conclusions. Lang a gadfly had actually read Huntington’s peer reviewed published Journal articles and found that the mathematics was very faulty, both in its application and execution. He opposed Huntington’s election and proceeded to present Huntington’s mathematics and conclusions to the members, who were themselves the best scientists of many different disciplines. They all realized that the Huntington work was incorrect. Huntington argued that as a Political Scientist he was using mathematics as a way of conceptually illustrating his points and not in a rigorous manner. Huntington was not elected to the academy. Lang frequently would take scientific evidence offered in Congressional Hearings, analyze it and then send a package to the media and members of Congress showing the errors. See {508154} for his cutting style with poor science.
Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience" (originally published as "Resistance to Civil Government"), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.
