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248   Life and Letters of Francis Galton


There is much to be talked over, amongst the rest the possibility of giving a summary of the contents of each No. of Biometrika, in language that a newspaper could copy, giving the net results obtained in{ the papers it contains, distinguishing between statement of facts that for the present go no further, and deductions from them. If you thought this feasible, the existence of such a resume would greatly aid the reader.

You will have before long to give a glossary and definitions of technical words, and references to the places where they were first employed. Also, a very compact account of the chief processes used would be of great service to many (with references of course). Doubtless you have in view the eventual publication of a regular text-book on statistical operations.

I wish we could meet somehow. I could easily be at home next Saturday or Sunday if you cared to fix an hour and a meal, or meals. Dinner-supper on Sunday is always 6.45 to let the cook have time to put on her best bonnet for church. Such is the sex.

Ever sincerely yours, FRANCIS GALTON.

7, WELL ROAD, HAMPSTEAD, N.W. Dec. 26, 1901.

MY DEAR MR GALTON, I have been intending for some days to send you a line of sympathy on being laid up, but I wanted to enclose a New Year's Greeting from the workers in my statistical laboratory, and I could not get it finished until this morning. I have always felt we must go into the point more fully, since you laid stress on the view that ability was correlated with the size ,of the head in your criticism of Dr Lee's paper. There is still a chance that extreme genius may exhibit something abnormal in the size of head, but I think it is now pretty clear, if we are to look upon ability as normally distributed in the population, there is only a very small, practically negligible correlation between it and either the size or shape of the head.

We propose next to find out whether there is a higher relationship between ability and health, strength and general physique, and then to test its relation to temper and moral characters, from the school data schedules.

It is a shame to send a gift and then ask for it back!-But I have not had the chance of making a copy, and I might possibly find an abiding place for it in Biometrika or elsewhere. Please let me have also your criticisms and suggestions.

I am sending you besides a paper by Macdonell to appear in the next number of Biometrika. It is rather long and full of tables, but it involves nearly 18 months stiff work and the material is of value for a number of purposes. I think it shows that for many purposes the fourfold classifications we are now making can safely replace the old laborious tables of correlation.

With the best wishes for the New Year and with the hope that Biometrika may not during its first year of life disappoint you badly, I am, Yours always sincerely, KARL PEARSON.


42, RUTLAND GATE, S.W. Dec. 31, 1901.

MY DEAR PROF. K. PEARSON, The New-Year gift is indeed acceptable both in itself and as evidence of your continued zeal and power of influencing others to work with you. Hearty thanks and best New-Year wishes.

The non-correlation of ability and size of head continues to puzzle me the more I recall my

own measurements and observations of the most eminent men of the day. It was a treat to watch the great dome of Sylvester's head. William Spottiswoode was another of the 5 or 6 largest; so was that encyclopaedic physiologist Prof. Sharpey. That most accomplished & many-sided official, Sir John Lefevre (formerly a senior wrangler), was the largest of all. Gladstone's head, which I myself measured, was very large. Again, comparatively the other day, I was one of a deputation of physicists to the Treasury about the National Physical Laboratory and sitting behind the front row I marvelled at their skulls. Lord Rayleigh, Stokes, Lord Lister, Lord Kelvin were all remarkable partly perhaps owing to the powerful moulding of their heads, irrespective of size. A Frenchman collected the recorded weight of brains of many eminent people and published them in one of the French anthropological periodicals many years ago. They contained remarkable weights. However I can say nothing against the validity of your results.

One thing ought to be remembered, that bigness of head and sturdiness of build go together. A judge (the late Sir Win Grove), whose large head I often measured, told me that it came


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