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Four Minute Essays By Dr. Frank Crane: 101 total pages.

One of the best tests of any opinion (not an infallible, but a very valuable, test) is, "Will it work?" If it won't, something's wrong with it, nine times out of ten. That last brilliant notion of yours-hundreds of sensible people have had it, and discarded it, because it wouldn't work. Don't let anybody make you think you owe a certain amount of belief in a thing simply because you can't disprove it. Nor be deceived by the argument, "If that doesn't 2. FOUR MINUTE ESSAYS 29 account for it, what does?" You don't have to account for it at all. Some of the most pestiferous bunk has got itself estab­lished by this kind of reasoning. You don't have to believe or disbelieve everything that comes along; most things you just hang up and wait. Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know." It's a sign that you know what you do know. Ask questions. Don't be ashamed of appearing ignorant. What you ought to be ashamed of is seeming to understand when you don't. Classify. Education is nothing but the art of classification. Keep a scrap-book. Keep an index rerum. And classify.

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