Scientism and Values.pdf - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Growth} in Biology and, in Education 183
useful in biology. It forms the basis for the development of assay
methods for vitamins and other biologically important substances;
it permits comparisons of different diets; it forms the basis for
recognizing and analyzing variability in populations; it is, useful
in exploring the problem of enzymatic adaptation; and other
problems such as the exploration of factors in. the environment
that affect growth.
One often finds that growth fails to follow the expected S curve.
Deviations in the curve suggest that unexpected factors are at
work. These factors may be in the external or in the internal
environment. The work of Braun (2) describes a situation in
which an internal genetic factor and external nutritional factors
are at work simultaneously in modifying the typical growth curve.
Knowledge of the law of growth, plus much other knowledge,
often makes it possible for scientists to explain apparent deviations
from the law, and thus the law of growth forms the basis for
advances in biological knowledge.
The growth of populations, or of individuals in nature seldom
follows the law of growth in detail. The smooth curves are based
chiefly upon laboratory data. Varying factors in a natural environment,
such as temperature, rainfall, food supply, disease, usually
disturb the even growth curve that is so often found under laboratory
conditions.
Inherent factors will cause pronounced deviations from the law
of growth in many organisms, whether growing in nature or in
the laboratory. In mammals the inherent characteristic of carrying
the young internally through early stages of growth greatly affects
the growth curve of each individual. The onset of activity in some
endocrine glands may also affect growth to a considerable extent.
Both of these effects are pronounced in human growth.
In this brief look at the law of growth we have already noted
some of the applications and limitations of the concept. Even
when we consider its application to quantitative growth alone,
the law has stringent limitations. As a descriptive tool the law
serves fairly well under carefully controlled conditions, but even
here difficulties exist. A statement by Sholl (17) points out some
of these difficulties when considering the growth of an animal.