Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 161, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1920 — Diversity Among Students. [ARTICLE]

Diversity Among Students.

The influence of personal ability or mental habit on such scientific work as making astronomical drawings has been the subject of interesting experiments by T. L. MacDonald at the University of Glasgow. A drawing of Mars by Artonladi, a photograph of the moon, and another picture were submitted to six students, who were requested to make copies but were given no suggestion as to what should be visible or how it should be drawn. The diversity of the drawings produced was surprising and curious. Each student showed special skill in noting some one feature —either canals, lakes, or gradations of shading—and the student who best drew the canals saw the smallest number of shadings. The distinguishing characteristics of each Individual persisted remarkably through all his drawings. It is concluded that planetary astronomers may be divided into three classes—distinguished by canal, spot and shade sensitiveness—and that their drawings Should be subject to corresponding corrections.