EMPLOYMENT PSYCHOLOGY DEFINED I t 
Every propagandist for a new scheme to solve the prob 
lems of mankind labels it “The Science” of something or 
other. Since the value of the scientific method is undis 
puted, the addition of the word scientific to any scheme 
whatsoever immediately raises a presumption in its favor 
in the eyes of the credulous consumer. Science, like 
psychology, is a word in whose name many sins are 
committed. 
The word science comes from the Latin word scire, to 
know; but this fact tells us nothing about the meaning of 
science; a man may know the entire “ Encyclopaedia Britan- 
nica” and yet not be a scientist. Science means more than 
knowledge, however extensive. It means more, even, 
than accurate knowledge; for an accountant may know 
every figure and item in his accounts and yet not be a 
scientist. A scientist is one who can formulate and apply 
standardized knowledge in a given field. And the scientific 
method is a method by which knowledge is standardized 
and refined far beyond the ordinary powers of the human 
mind. But what do we mean by standardized knowledge? 
Is this not carrying even science a bit too far, some one 
will probably ask? Not at all. An inch is an example 
of standardized knowledge. How many people could 
agree on the size of an inch without the use of a rule? 
In the Bureau of Standards at Washington lies the orig 
inal rule, a metal bar which is used as the standard for 
every other inch. But this is only a first step in science. 
What should we say to the tool and gauge maker who 
measured his work with a foot rule? For his purposes 
science has devised the micrometer which can measure 
distances as small as .0001 of an inch and less. The gauge 
maker is a master of standardized or scientific knowledge 
in his field. If he were to send the drawings and spec