From the first
I did well at this work. It--was, I think, largely a case of special
aptitude, of a peculiar irrelevant vein of faculty running through my
mind. It is one of those things men seem to have by chance, that has
little or nothing to do with their general merit, and which it is
ridiculous to be either conceited or modest about. I did get through
a very big mass of work in those years, working for a time with a
concentrated fierceness that left little of such energy or capacity as
I possess unused. I worked out a series of problems connected with the
stability of bodies pitching in the air and the internal movements of
the wind, and I also revolutionised one leading part at last of the
theory of explosive engines. These things are to be found in the
Philosophical Transactions, the Mathematical Journal, and less
frequently in one or two other such publications, and they needn't
detain us here. Indeed, I doubt if I could write about them here. One
acquires a sort of shorthand for one's notes and mind in relation to
such special work.
Pages:
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480