Some Aspects and Problems of Post-War Science, Pure and Applied^*

Abstract

THE British Association for the Advancement of Science owes its origin, and, in great measure, its specific aims and functions, to the public spirit and zeal for the interests of science of Scotsmen. Its virtual founder was Sir David Brewster; its scope and character were defined by Principal Forbes. In constitution it differed from the migratory scientific associations existing on the Continent, which mainly served to promote the social intercourse of their members by annual gatherings, in that it was to be a permanent organisation, with a settled establishment and headquarters, which should have not merely its yearly reunions, but which, “by methods and by influence peculiarly its own, should continue to operate during the intervals of these public assemblies, and should aspire to give an impulse to every part of the scientific system; to mature scientific enterprise; and to direct the labours requisite for discovery.”