|
 Samuel
Clements (Mark Twain) wrote: "Since my own day on the
Mississippi, cutoffs have been made at Hurricane Isle 100, and
at Council Bend. These shortened the river 167 miles. In my time
a cutoff was made at American Bend which shortened the river by
10 miles. Thus, the Mississippi river between Cairo and New
Orleans was 1,215 miles 176 years ago ... its length is only 963
miles at present. If I wanted to be one of those ponderous
scientific people, and 'let on' to prove what had occurred in a
given time in the recent past, or what will occur in the far
future by what has occurred in late years, what an opportunity
is here! ... Please observe!
In
the space of 176 years the Mississippi river has shortened
itself 242 miles. That is an average of a trifle over one mile
and 1/3 per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind
or idiotic, can see that in the Old Olithis Silurian Period,
just a million years ago next November, the Lower Mississippi
river was upwards of one million three hundred thousand miles
long, and stuck out over the Gulf of Mexico like a fishing
rod!"
And
by the same token any person can see that in 742 years from now
the Lower
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Mississippi will be only a mile and three quarters
long, and New Orleans and Cairo will have joined their streets
together, and be plodding comfortably along under a single mayor
and mutual board of aldermen.
There
is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesome
returns of conjecture out of such trifling investments of
fact."
(From "Life on the Mississippi.")
Do
not conclude that Clements accepted the Bible account of
creation. We publish this humorous note from his writings
because it does point up a valid criticism of
"generalization" and hasty conclusions drawn from
insufficient evidence.
The
wish of the student can usurp the authority of the object; and
our background can "condition" us, so we read or hear
what we are tuned to see or hear when our special
"button" is pushed. None of us are immune to this
problem, and we can overcome it only through constant effort.
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