Abstract
(1) AT the January Conference of Headmasters a resolution was passed recommending the teaching of the “natural laws underlying the phenomena of daily life”. A similar resolution was passed at a meeting of. the Association of Science Teachers, in which the value of exciting a “spirit of interest and inquiry with regard to the world around us and the universe at large” was emphasised (see NATURE of February 1, p. 442). It was thought that the best way of doing this was by courses of generalised science. It was doubtless not intended to exclude knowledge of the activities of living organisms, inclusive of man, and of our own bodily functions. In other words, physiology should be part of the course. We may remember Huxleys advocacy of physiology as of especial value as a means of mental discipline, and it has also an important practical side. The ignorance of most people with regard to questions of vital consequence is scarcely less than scandalous, and it is unfortunate that there appears to be a widespread belief that physiology is only of use to the medical man. Of course, it is necessary to him in order that he may understand the abnormalities of disease; but a knowledge of the normal working of our bodies is surely a matter that concerns everyone. The pressing question of food is one that presents itself at once, and there are many others.
(1) Human Physiology: a Text-book for High Schools and Colleges.
By P. G. Stiles. Pp. 405. (Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders Co., 1916.) Price 6s. 6d. net.
(2) The Problems of Physiological and Pathological Chemistry of Metabolism for Students, Physicians, Biologists, and Chemists.
By Dr. Otto von Fürth. Authorised translation by Prof. Allen J. Smith. Pp. xv + 667. (Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott Co., n.d.) Price 25s. net.
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BAYLISS, W. (1) Human Physiology: a Text-book for High Schools and Colleges (2) The Problems of Physiological and Pathological Chemistry of Metabolism for Students, Physicians, Biologists, and Chemists. Nature 99, 101–102 (1917). https://doi.org/10.1038/099101a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/099101a0
