His mind conceived endless figures of circles and ellipses scattered promiscuously over the page, defying the attempts of the [10] student to reduce them to order. What must he do before he can apply his formulæ and equations, determine their areas, or describe their eccentric motion? He must reduce them to a common centre, and then he can proceed to calculate the abstruse problems in connection with the figures described. They may be the complex motions of double-star orbits, or the results of the impact of various projectiles on the tranquil surface of a pool. It matters not—the principle is the same; he must concentrate, and reduce to a common centre.
This is the great defect of those who have no accurate mathematical knowledge; they cannot concentrate their minds with the same degree of intensity upon the work which lies before them. Their thoughts fly off at a tangent, as mine do very often; but then I have not been classed yet in the Tripos; and, O male poetical sycophant, you may be right after all when you say:
‘O woman! in our hours of ease
Uncertain, coy and hard to please,
As variable as the noon-day shade.’
[11]
Yes, as variable as the most variable quantities x, y, z. I, a student of Girtham College, blush to own that my thoughts very often fly off at a tangent.
‘Fly off at a tangent!’ All hail to thee, most noble mathematical phrase! Here is another fine mathematical expression, plainly exemplifying the action of centrifugal force. The faster the wheel turns, the greater is the velocity of the discarded particles which fly off along the line, perpendicular to the radius of the circle. The world travels very fast now; the increased velocity of the transit of earthly bodies, the rate at which they live, the multiplicity of engagements, etc., have made the social world revolve so fast that the speed would have startled the torpid life of the last century. And what is the result? Men’s thoughts fly off at a tangent; they are unable to concentrate their minds on any given subject; they are content with hasty generalisms, with short magazine articles on important subjects, which really require large volumes and patient study to elucidate them fully.
[12]
What we want to do is to increase the attractive force, in order to prevent this tangential motion—to increase the force of gravity.
‘Well,’ says the young lady who loves to revel in the ‘Ghastly Secret of the Moated Dungeon,’ or the ‘Mysteries of Footlight Fancy,’ ‘you are grave enough. Pray don’t increase your gravity!’
Thank you, gentle critic. I will, in turn, ask you one favour. Leave for once the ‘Mysteries of Footlight Fancy;’ seek to know no more ‘ghastly secrets,’ and increase your gravity—your mental weight; and hence your attraction in the eyes of all who are worth attracting will be marvellously increased, by understanding a little about Newton’s law of universal gravitation, and don’t fly off at a tangent.