If you judge by the number of people who go
to see the games and by the number of those who actually play it , basketball
is probably the most popular sport in the united states today. It is mainly an
indoor game, and the season extends from late fall, through the winter, into
early spring, There are many professional teams, but for the most part
basketball is a school sport. There is hardly a high school or college in the
country that does not have its team and its loyal following of fans.
In spring and summer, the most popular
sport is baseball. During the warm weather you can se young men and boys
playing this game in any part of the country. Radio and television bring the
details of the big games to every corner of the land, and the activities of the
professional teams are a topic of conversation for Americans everywhere.
In the fall, the most popular sport is
football. As you know, this is not the same kind of game that is so popular in
other part of the world. Like basketball and baseball, it is typically
American, and those who have never seen it before have difficulty seeing any
sense in it. But for most of the spectators the game itself is not so important
as the music, the cheering, and the festival spirit that comes with it. At a
cool, bright autumn afternoon, there is nothing so colorful and exciting as a
football game.
A land free from
destruction, plus wealth, natural resources, and labor supply—all these were
important factors in helping England to become the center for the Industrial
Revolution. But they were not enough. Something else was needed to start the
industrial process. That "something special" was men— creative
individuals who could invent machines, find new sources of power, and establish
business organizations to reshape society.
The men who created the machines of the
Industrial Revolution came from many backgrounds and many occupations. Many of
them were more inventors than scientists. A man who is a pure scientist is
primarily interested in doing his research accurately. He is not necessarily
working so that his findings can be used.
An inventor or one interested in applied science is usually trying
to make something that has an actual use. He may try to solve a problem by
using the theories of science or by experimenting through correct and error.
Regardless of his method, he is working to obtain a specific result: the
construction of a harvesting machine, the burning of a light bulb, or one of
many other objectives.
Most of the
people who developed the machines of the Industrial Revolution were inventors,
not trained scientists. A few were both scientists and inventors. Even those
who had little or no training in science might not have made their inventions
if a ground work had not been laid by scientists years before.