FAITH, HOPE, AND CLARITY

Dr. Willem de Sitter though not generally known in America, is the foremost astronomer of the Continent. His current visit to Cambridge is of interest by virtue of his significant and authoritative refutation of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. The Dutch scientist conceives the universe as being slowly "blown up like a soap-bubble," an idea even more bewildering to the layman than Einstein's "warped space." Though this question is complex enough to make even astronomers' heads swim, its nevertheless illustrative of other disputes that should concern the average man and his beliefs.

All through the field of science there exist such opposed arguments, yet a deep faith in the infallibility of scientific investigation clings to minds that have long since rejected faith in the infallibility of the Church. Critical perception is dulled by the glamour of famous names; so that the educated world, from being priest-ridden, has become expert-ridden. The coming of Dr. de Sitter is an exemplary occasion for the expression of scientific agnosticism.