THE LEVERETT-TAYLOR PAPERS: SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION AND NETWORKING, 1890-1937

In 1900, discovery and communication in the geosciences were governed by the same principles that guide these processes today. Discovery then, as now, requires observation, data collection, description and measurement, interpretation, comparison, and the formation of conclusions and testable hypotheses. However, the processes of scientific communication a century ago were far less dependent on technology than they are now.

In the process of discovering and interpreting the glacial history of the Great Lakes and the Midwest, the glaciologists of the time wrote hundreds of letters and described their observations in hundreds of field notebooks. The letters between Leverett and Taylor, and the notebooks of Leverett, provide insight into the communication processes that made science progress in 1900.

Approximately 1100 letters written by Leverett, Taylor, Chamberlin, Upham, Lane, Winchell, Adams, and other glacialists were examined. In an era when travel was more difficult and time-consuming than today, the letters record observations, describe field work and difficulties encountered, exchange information, request assistance in interpreting data, and provide a forum for testing hypotheses. Administrative problems are noted, as are a wealth of details regarding personal circumstances and events.

Approximately 100 of Leverett's field notebooks related primarily to the Michgan Basin were correlated with the letters and some of Leverett's maps to provide additional information about where particular observations were made and in what sequence during the 45 years Leverett was working in the field.