t it
as such. Even in mechanical science, in the use of the term "horse-power,"
we are incorrect in this expression. How does this "horse" look in
reality? Let us analyse this "horse." All science, all mechanical
appliances have been produced by "man" and man alone. Everything we
possess is the production of either dead men's or living men's work. The
enslavement of the solar man-power is purely a human invention in theory
and practice. Everything we have is evidently therefore a time-binding
product. What perfect nonsense to call a purely human achievement the
equivalent of so much "horse-power"! Of course it does not matter
mathematically what name we give to a unit of power; we may call it a Zeus
or a Zebra; but there is a very vicious implication in using the name of
an animal to denote a purely human product. Everything in our civilization
was produced by MAN; it seems only reasonable that this unit of power
which is the direct product of Man's work, should be correctly named after
him. The educational effect would be wholesome and tremendous. The human
value in work would be thus emphasized again and again, and respect for
human work would be taught, from the beginning in the schools. This
"horse-power" unit causes us to forget the human part in it and it
degrades human work to the level of a commodity. This is an example of the
degrading influence of wrong conceptions and wrong language. I said
"educational" because even our subconscious mind is affected by this. (See
App. II.)

Human Engineering will not interfere with any scientific research; on the
contrary, it will promote it in many ways. Grown-ups, it is to be hoped,
will stop the nonsense of intermixing dimensions, for which we chastise
children. It is the same kind of blundering as when we intermix
phenomena--measuring "God" by human standards, or human beings by animal
standards. The relationship, if any, between these phenomena or the
overlapping of different classes, is interesting and important; but in
studying such relationships of classes, it is fatal to mix the classes;
for example, if we are studying the relations between surfaces and solids,
it is fatal to mistake solids for surfaces; just so, too, if we stupidly
confuse humans with animals.

In the reality of life, we are interested only in the values of the
function of the phenomena by themselves and to arrive at right conclusions
we have to use units appropriate to the phenomena. The intermix