Who Is Sir Francis Galton?

It has sometimes been thought that Sir Francis was primarily interested in intelligence, how it is inherited, and how it might be improved, on average, over time. But Sir Francis had a much broader view. Intelligence was just one of several qualifications necessary to allow the possibility of achievement of what Sir Francis called Eminence.

At this point, I must make a strong statement of the fact that Sir Francis did not consider wealth or social standing as factors in the determination of the achievement of eminence.

Rather, he used the term “noteworthy” which means accomplishments benefiting society in a way that is “worthy of note”.

According to Galton, the qualifications needed to have the opportunity to become “noteworthy” are:

• CAPACITY: primarily from inherited levels of intelligence and physical health

• ZEAL: extraordinary enthusiasm for the tasks at hand; and

• WORK: the ability to perform laborious work over sustained periods.

A thorough study of Francis Galton leads to the realisation that the qualifications shown here are a very good fit for his own. Yet never in any of his numerous works that I have read, did Francis Galton make any claims for his own importance. Perhaps it would have been a good thing, had Sir Francis included one other of his characteristics; namely, humility!

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

(from the section known as A Declaration of Rights)

It is quite possible, even likely, that one of the reasons why one of the great figures of history is not well-known in the U.S., is because of this famous document. Today many people believe that the Declaration of Independence states that all people are created exactly equal in all important characteristics, so that after birth success or failure depends on how well we are nurtured, educated, and trained, having little or nothing to do with inherited qualities. Galton would have had no problem with the “unalienable Rights” but he found the concept of equal creation far from self-evident.

“I have no patience with the hypothesis occasionally expressed, and often implied, especially in tales written to teach children to be good, that babies are born pretty much alike, and that the sole agencies in creating differences between boy and boy, and man and man, are steady application and moral effort. It is in the most unqualified manner that I object to pretensions of natural equality. The experiences of the nursery, the school, the university, and of professional careers, are a chain of proofs to the contrary. I acknowledge freely the great power of education and social influences in developing the active powers of the mind, just as I acknowledge the effect of use in developing the muscles of the blacksmith’s arm, and no further. Let the blacksmith labour as he will, he will find that there are certain feats beyond his power that are well within the strength of a man of herculean make, even although the latter may have led a sedentary life.”

Now, having read this statement carefully, perhaps it is obvious that the convictions and logic presented are at the very heart of Galton’s lofty plan to improve the human race by encouraging the inheritance of abilities such as can lead to eminence as we have already seen.

Charles Darwin and Francis Galton were first cousins, their grandfather being Erasmus Darwin, who was a quite famous physician, and philosopher.

Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” was published in 1859, and it had a major influence on the development of Francis Galton’s own ideas.

Now, Galton had observed that ability seemed to “cluster” within families, and he wrote his first book on the subject of heredity; “Hereditary Genius”, which was published in 1869.

“I do not think I ever in all my life read anything more interesting and original.”

Charles Darwin to Francis Galton on reading “Hereditary Genius”, 3 December 1869

Francis Galton looked up to his cousin all of his life, and the approval he received stimulated him to continue his lifelong studies of heredity.

Here we see Charles Darwin, aged 51 left, and Francis Galton, aged about 50. These two photographs indicate the degree of resemblance between the two cousins.

“I am inclined to agree with Francis Galton in believing that education and environment produce only a small effect on the mind of anyone, and that most of our qualities are innate.”

Thus the most highly respected scientist of his time was agreeing with Francis Galton with regard to a subject which remains controversial to this day.

Today, however, most of the scientific community agrees that a significant part of a person’s capability is inherited.

“Although the child’s future will be heavily influenced by environment, much of his or her fate may already have been predetermined.”

Time Magazine, 20 March 1989

“I see an extraordinary potential for human betterment ahead of us. The time to act is now.”

James Watson, Nobel Prize, DNA, 1962

“... we are in some way accountable for our success or failure to further certain obscure ends to be guessed as best we can. That though our instructions are obscure, they are sufficiently clear to justify our interference with the pitiless course of Nature, whenever it seems possible to attain the goal towards which it moves by gentler and kindlier ways.”

Francis Galton, Herbert Spencer Lecture, Oxford University, 1907

Here Galton expresses his belief that we are accountable for our efforts to interfere with Nature, and attain its goal with gentler and kindlier ways.

“It is far more humane to prevent suffering than to alleviate it after it has occurred.”

Francis Galton, 1909

Those of you who are making an effort to help clients improve the quality of their products, and to eliminate waste, will appreciate this statement from Francis Galton; prevention is much better than inspection and rework after the fact.

“When the desired fullness of information shall have been acquired, then and not till then, will be the fit moment to proclaim a ‘Jehad’, or Holy War.”

Francis Galton, Herbert Spencer Lecture, Oxford University, 1907

This quotation illustrates the fact that Francis Galton, who said “Whenever you can, count!” always sought the truth, and desired that adequate data be assembled and analysed before pursuit of the ultimate goal: improvement of the human race.

“Some people hate the very name of statisics, but I find them full of beauty and interest. Whenever they are not brutalised, but delicately handled by the higher methods, and are warily interpreted, their power of dealing with complicated phenomena is extraordinary. They are the only tools by which an opening can be cut through the formidable thicket of difficulties that bars the path of those who pursue the Science of Man.”

Francis Galton, “The Master Builder of the Modern Theory of Statistics”

I would like to add here that many people I have met on the path leading to statistical knowledge and ability in its use, have expressed to me the same feeling that Galton expresses here, and that he expressed also when describing the Normal Distribution. These people range from old white-bearded professors to new students exposed for the first time to statistical thinking. The facts and forms of statistical thinking are always thought of with awe, and enthusiasm, for they are unlike anything else we encounter in life.

“And now I want to ask you a question: if I had 50 men of 2 different nations, and for some reason could not measure all, if I picked out the 10 tallest of each nation, would their mean heights probably give an approximate mean between all 50 of each nation?”

Letter from Darwin to Galton, 1873

Galton’s reply, May 1873

Here we see that Charles Darwin has asked a question, which Francis Galton answers with diplomacy by saying that there is not sufficient data; that 100 values rather than 10 would be desireable. When I was new to statistics, and in particular to statistical process control, it seemed that everywhere I turned, a requirement for “at least 100 values” was presented. I have often wondered if this got its start with Sir Francis’ reply to Charles Darwin.

“Man is gifted with pity and other kindly feelings; he has also the power of preventing many kinds of suffering. I conceive it well within his province to replace Natural Selection by other processes that are more merciful and not less effective. This is precisely the aim of Eugenics.”

This little paragraph eloquently states Galton’s optimism and hope for the human race and its responsibility to replace the processes of nature with others. The science of Eugenics would use all the tools that Galton had developed, and he believed the methods and the goal to be completely practical, just as his other contributions to science had been. This was not a wild visionary’s dream, but a sober, scientifically sound approach to the alleviation of severe problems in society.

It is worth commenting on Galton’s age at this point - 86. He still maintains his wonderful way with the English language, and he is still presenting new ideas.