Edwin Johnston Goodwin Quotes
Pi is exactly equal to 3.2
Johnson was an incompetent scientist who had developed a method for “squaring a circle” which was in reality totally invalid. It involved the mathematical number Pi which is an infinite decimal but Johnson wanted it to be a fixed number. He persuaded members of the legislature that things would be better in the state if the value of Pi would be fixed by law. So a bill was introduced to make Pi equal to 3.2. Professor C. A. Waldo was horrified that the state would even attempt to legislate what is a mathematical phenomenon. However, Pi was long known to be an infinite decimal with no finite fixed number that can ever be accurate. There were religious and other legislative objections to the notion of an infinite number and one that was not defined as the common man could use it. Hence the proposed legislation. Even if there were a fixed decimal legislated for Pi, 3.2 was definitely in error. For hundreds of years mathematicians the world over had calculated PI to a number of decimal places and the 3.{596032} (commonly in use) was much closer. Professor Waldo persuaded the legislature to abandon their attempt to legislate science and mathematics, and this advice was generally heeded in the United States until some of the states with few scientists and few highly educated citizens began to ban the teaching of evolution. Science and mathematics do not lend themselves to politics and legislation, and still governments often try to legislate science and technology but rarely do it well and without error. The one exception is the setting of standards for units of weights and measurement where consensus is what is important and there is no scientifically right solution. For example, the standard length of a yard can be set at any distance as long as all agree to use that distance. Here government helps a great deal to forge and document the standard.
Edwin Johnston Goodwin, Late 19th Century, Physician & Junk Scientist, His “research finding” that the Indiana Legislature had drafted as a law for the state, February 5, 1897
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Reacting to the public and media outrage at Oliver North shredding documents in the Iran-contra scandal:
1st Baron Verulam
This is the earliest surviving attempt of the Romans to formulate a legal code.
This quotation is often cited when issues arise about interpreting the Constitutionality of something centuries later.
This Cahier was the consensus of the Clergy of Blois in 1789. There were cahiers of several provinces of France—some by the clergy, some by the nobles. What is fascinating is the emergence of many of the pre-revolutionary French concepts. The example of the American revolution and its principles was known throughout the educated classes of France.
Generally we make laws to try and stop bad actions. Without the bad actions, there would generally be no laws.
For complex legislation, there are very few members of Congress who vote on the legislation who could honestly say that they have read the entire bill. Breyer and many others do not see this as a major problem; many others consider it a disgrace that members of Congress will vote for or against a law that they have not even read.
Many new laws have unintended consequences. In many cases the laws are not sufficiently effective to solve the problems for which they were passed. In other cases, the laws are too draconian and the public and the legislators have second thoughts. Almost all laws of significance require amendments and adjustments over the years.
Johnson had proposed an extremely strong civil rights bill. Most Washington insiders assumed that he would gain favor amongst fair minded whites and Blacks for making the attempt, but then he would compromise with the Southerners, and water down the bill to something that had little or no teeth. His staff were trying to learn from Johnson, which aspects of the bill he was willing to compromise on assuming that the President could never get Congress to pass the bill in its original form. They were really surprised at the President’s answer and assumed that he could not do it. They were more surprised when he did drive the bill through Congress without any substantive compromises. It was the most powerful and effective Civil Rights legislation passed since Reconstruction a century earlier.
He was discussing “Stand Your Ground Laws” which were enacted to solve one problem, but then effected many other things negatively. The law, once passed, is the law regardless of whether it has adverse consequences that the legislators never anticipated. This is one of the reasons that drafting legislation is such a difficult skill.
