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146 THE ATHENAEUM 4. Clyibs and News ~tf SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS CLUB By W. Clyde Allen ’26. Yoii may have read a few days ago of the case of a Mexican woman giving birth to twelve babies. Is such possible? If so, how is it possible? What phenomena of nature surround such cases? These things and others we discuss in the Science and Math ematics Club. A sort of family discussion as it were. With the aid of our faculty brother-members who have studied further than we in various branches of scientific research, we are able to thrash out alluring questions. In deed,'that is one of the advantages of the science and mathematics club, it is an organization whereby teach ers and students meet as brothers, or better still, as a family, each imbued with the spirit of science,—to know more of it, and tell the the rest what they do not happen to know. We had a wonderful meeting on the night of February 9; Pro fessor Dansby lectured on the “Fourth Dimension.” In connection with this he illustrated the law of relativity. “There are,” he said “only three dimensions worked out, but we need a fourth. Is time the fourth dimension? If so, why cannot we move back into time? The greatest curvature of the earth has been estimated in eight years.” This is only a small part of his most interesting lecture. Professor Pinkney also spoke on the fourth dimension. He showed that many, or practically all of our conceptions of things were erroneous, and, that we of this earth may be but the shadows of something else. The fourth dimension must be something en tirely different from the other three.” These two lectures were among the best we have ever heard, and that’s saying something. Just here we need to remind ourselves that one does not have to go miles and miles to find great men, but just realize that we are in reality surrounded by noteworthy men, which fact, we should not lose sight of just because we happen to see them every day.- THE ACADEMIC DEBATING SOCIETY CAUSES AND REMEDY FOR LAXITY It goes without saying that every organization has its ups and downs, and the Academic Debating Society is certainly no excep tion. Although its very recent history shows a predominance of the downs”, there are yet some grounds upon which the more optim istic observers may base their faith in a certain and immediate re newal of the old time spirit. At its last fortnightly meeting, the society was reminded of the just and sound criticisms which had been made by the club editor of the Athenaeum. The society not only agreed with the editor that