SEMAINE D'ÉTUDE SUR LE ROLE DE L’ANALYSE ECONOMETRIQUE ETC.
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is accepted in principle, it is restricted in practice because scien-
tific workers are often afraid, rightly or wrongly, of giving
offence to persons holding higher posts. In consequence, many
scientists in underdeveloped countries suffer from a lack of
self-confidence, and are afraid to take up original lines of in-
vestigation. There is little possibility of a proper evaluation
or appreciation of scientific work within the country. This
leads to an exaggerated dependence on the opinion of foreign
scientists and gives rise to much imitative work. Also, when
‘here is lack of appreciation or criticism from the advanced
countries, there is sometimes a tendency to ascribe the un-
favourable view to racial or national prejudices, and there is
resistance against collaboration with foreign scientists.
5.4. In underdeveloped countries there are very few, some-
‘imes only one or two, individuals of outstanding ability in
scientific research or in any other scientific field. As leadership
can be supplied only by individuals of high ability, and as
such persons are few in number, it is much more difficult in
underdeveloped countries to utilise the services of individuals
of average ability and qualification. The advanced and advanc-
ing countries have a double advantage. They have a large
number of persons with qualities of leadership and can, there-
fore, utilise in a fruitful way larger numbers of persons of
average ability. This is why many scientific workers from
anderdeveloped countries, who are unable to do much useful
work in their own native country, can often do very good
work in the environment of a higher state of organisation of
research in an advanced country.
5.5. The aim of scientific aid must be to create in every
anderdeveloped country, as quickly as possible, a sufficient
number of research scientists to form a community of profes-
sional workers which would be sufficiently large to facilitate
an independent evaluation of scientific work through free cri-
ricism and frank exchange of views. It is, therefore, necessary
Mahalanobis I - pag. 25
