Library, Asthma, Ignorance, Brownlashers, Worth, Rafinesque, Directory
Rafinesque said it best, "... there is another mass of knowledge, which may be called latent or sleeping. The amount of it is much greater than could be supposed. There are in all the branches of knowledge, some portions nearly forgotten and lost, and which gradually sink into oblivion and are lost to mankind; like the immense amount of facts, events and practices, which have thus become extinct during the lapses of ages.
If all the extinct knowledge was yet existing, it might exceed perhaps what is now extant, although we deem it prodigious. Every friend of learning has to regret the loss of some past knowledge, of which faint indications or small fragments merely remain. But if the latent knowledge be added, as it is eventually by the neglect of ignorance, the whole of this dormant or forgotten, together with the dead or lost, both of which are now rendered useless to mankind, will be found prodigious.
But fortunately the latent or dormant may yet be restored and rendered available, by care, patient researches and exertions. It is to be found scattered in old books, or even new publications of limited circulation, in manuscripts, in the memory of men, in monuments that speak a peculiar language to the learnt and restored. All this among us. ...".
Before we discard Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmalz's writings as only applicable in the era in which they were put to paper, consider the following; patents available to the general public through online searches go back only to the early 70's. And if the search engine is incapable of raising a particular patent, the reader is left with the impression that the subject area is lacking. Or in books, I have heard it said by individuals that should know better, "the book was written in the 80's, the information is dated and one should get something more recent". And in the chemical literature, Chemical Abstracts, while still printed in the hard, is mostly accessed by our scholars and scientist "on-line". Sad to say, it was necessary to pay a trash hauler to take away bound volumes of Chemical Abstracts dating back to the very beginning of this marvelous form of scientific review. Or in the laboratory, an otherwise well qualified scientist with a PhD was remiss in seeking out the old literature and cost a major corporation several years of research time and monies because he failed to find the toxicology studies of the very same "new" compound he was advancing toward the marketplace.
Now put this in more contemporary surroundings. Carol Browner of the Environmental Protection Agency has been successful in convincing the President that new rules are required to protect the public's health against particulate matter in the air we breath. She claims statistics, which are based on conjecture, show that lives will be saved if asthmatics are provided with cleaner air. Her numbers are not even based on data dredging or other means of selection to prove a point, but instead reflect instead the use of unfounded numbers to support her cause.
This is not to say that she is wrong, only that this is a misuse of science. In fact one can find evidence that particulates may not be harmful at all. I call your attention to the writing on asthma by Dr. Robley Dunglison, Professor of the Institute of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, "... he attended two gentlemen residing in the same street, and each about forty-five years old. Neither was liable to any other disease, and they were both short and stout. On a very cold morning Dr. Graves, found one of them very ill. He had not slept at all during the night, and had every moment been on the point of smothering from asthmatic dyspnoea. The extreme violence of the paroxysm he attributed to the fact, that his bedroom chimney had smoked occasionally during the night, and the weather was so cold, that he was afraid to open the windows to let out the smoke. Dr. Graves ordered him to change his room..."
So there you have it, positive proof that small soot particles are the causative agent for asthma. But wait, there's more, "... and proceeded to visit his neighbour, and found him sitting in a room full of smoke. The patient apologized to the doctor for introducing him into so disagreeable an atmosphere, and explained, that when the fit of asthma became very bad, the only sure means for obtaining relief, which he knew of, was to get a good coal fire lighted in the grate, which being done, he made his servant occasionally obstruct the progress of the smoke up the chimney, and thus maintain a certain density of smoke in the room. This never failed to afford him relief. ...
Well, maybe it's time for a second opinion. Certainly, I doubt that Carol Browner can give an unbiased one. And before we accept change for the sake of change, let's get some science into the discussion.
Perhaps all that is necessary is to revisit the literature, which brings me to the following:
ANNOUNCING THE NEW BUILT-IN ORDERLY ORGANIZED KNOWLEDGE DEVICE
A revolutionary breakthrough in information technology has been
discovered by the Company and it is pleased to introduce in advance of
its upcoming stockholder's meeting, a device which advances the
state-of-the-art in information transfer. This radical stand-alone,
hand-held unit is absent electronic interconnects, batteries and
electronic display. There is nothing to be connected or switched on.
It is user friendly, so easy to use most adults and all children can
operate it. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere, sitting
in an armchair by the fire, in flight, or at the beach (some versions
are ideally suited for backpacking). The personal nature of the device
permits its use in the presence of others and comes in models tailored
to the user's requirements. While compact, it is powerful enough to hold
as much information as a CD-ROM.
Here's how it works: By lifting the cover the device is turned on, providing access to sequentially numbered pages, each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. These pages are locked together with a custom-fit mechanism which keeps the pages in their correct sequence. As with some electronic media, both sides of each page are imprinted thus allowing manufacturers to reduce costs and double information content.
Each page can be individually scanned, registering information directly into the user's cpu. A flick of the finger can either advance or return to a previous page, and entire sections can be accessed easily and directly (see browse command).
The device which is portable and self-powered based on Newton's principle, may be taken up at any time and used by means of the "open" command. The "browse" feature allows one to move instantly to any page, and move forward or backward as required. Dependent upon the creator's plan, an "index" feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval is included in some versions.
OPTIONAL ACCESSORY
Portable erasable-nib cryptic intercommunication language styluses are devices for the keyboard challenged. This revolutionary, yet optional "bookmark" accessory allows you to open the device to the
exact place you left it in a previous session when the device is closed.
This feature remains "active", even when the device is unattended and
unused for an extended period of time. Bookmarks fit universal design
standards; thus a single bookmark can be used in devices by various
manufacturers and need not become obsolete.
Portable, durable and affordable, the device is expected to be readily accepted in business, government and education. Further, it will be the entertainment wave of the future, and many new versions are expected soon as it appeals to groups of all ages, abilities, race, religion, &c.
The popularity of its programming tool, the portable erasable-nib cryptic intercommunication language stylus, permits notations within the device which can be either permanent or temporary. Highlighting sections with the tool allows the cpu to readily identify and retrieve information. Our management expects that introduction of the new standard for information exchange and retrieval will spawn a host of new exciting products placing the company on the forefront of technology.
In a separate announcement, the Company denies that it has been approached by Microsoft and that an investigation by the Justice Department of stock price manipulation is unwarranted.
N.B.
The announcement of the introduction of this new wave of multimedia has
been well received. Alas, as in all business, just when you think you
have covered all the bases and either patented, trademarked or
copyrighted
the technology to assure yourself an everlasting marketing advantage,
along comes something new to advance the state-of-the-art. Two
instances are cited below as proof.
I call your attention of how one using the PENCIL (trademark abandoned due to generic usage), can encript the BOOK (trademark abandoned due to generic usage), making it a read-write device. While long the goal of engineers this elusive target still awaits fulfillment by those using CD-ROMs.
Most BOOKs are designed for use with an optical scanning device, however, I am aware that there are many now available for the visually impaired using a tactile information gathering system.
It is interesting to note that the Department of Commerce will grant a copyright to the contents of BOOKs and other creative writings for a mere twenty bucks. Why not go for it!
Editorial license is taken with Jane Tenenbaum's delightful writing on books and pencils. Tenenbaum Design, 16 North Carroll Street, Suite 620 Madison, WI 53703 Phone: 608-258-8333 Fax: 608-258-8318 E-Mail: [email protected]
So there you have it, just what the computer age has promised us, a means of storing and retrieving data (hopefully meaningful information) in a compact, portable and permanent record form. Hopefully, all will rush out and embrace this new technology.
And perhaps the EPA and other agencies will avail themselves of information residing in books and other formats that will aid them in reaching unbiased, meaningful decisions that will benefit us all!
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Atlantic Journal and Friend of Knowledge, C.S. Rafinesque, A. M...PH.D, Philadelphia, 1832. (Photolithographed by the Murray Printing Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts for the Arnold Arboretum, 1946.
Practice of Medicine or a Treatise on Special Pathology and Therapeutics, Robley Dunglison, M.D., Lea and Planchard, 1842. vol 1, pp 330.
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