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major. I have given a good deal of thought
to your question as to how work in this field
should differ from the pre-war program, because it
seems as though the general subject of Economics
is notorious for its indefiniteness - there seems to
be no method by which one "skill" can be evaluated.
aboard this particular ship there is nearly an equal
division of officers who have majored in the sciences
and those who have concentrated on the social
studies; the prevailing argument is that people
who have majored in Chemical or Electrical Engin-
eering, for example, are better prepared for a job,
in the technical sense, than those who have studied
in the field of Economics. The difficulty lies, I
believe, in the lack of any accurate criteria for
comparison in fields that differ so widely in their
systems and subject matter, and yet it has occurred
to me that there is at least one criterion, though
crude and inconsistent, that gives some insight into
the difference.

The development of most science courses
is such that it compels the pupil to adapt certain
study habits if he is to keep in stride with the
subjects dealt with as the course progresses. With
the regularity, both in volume and complexity, of
homework assignments and out-of-class work,
most such courses call forth a maximum of
concentration, and a proper utilization of time.
Economics courses invariably do not make those some
demands upon the pupil, and, as a result, it gives him