The Education of Henry Adams

Karl Pearson's classic approach to scientific method, The Grammar of Science, first published in 1899, evokes both praise and condemnation from Adams. Henry deletes some of his stronger criticism from the 1907 edition of Education; but his written opinions, criticizing scientists for their reluctance to draw broad conclusions, exist elsewhere, including the margins of his copy of Pearson's book. Pearson emphasizes the importance of experiments, measurements, and observation. He is remembered as the first scientist to use statistics extensively in biological science, a practice soon extended to the social sciences. Adams observes that the only conclusion science offers is "ultimate chaos. In plain words, Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man." Henry seeks something more.