21. VISHER, S. S. "A Study of the Type of Place of Birth and of the Occupation of Father of Subjects of Sketches in _Who's Who in America_." _American Journal of Sociology_, 1925. 22. ------ "The Comparative Rank of the American States." _American Journal of Sociology_, Vol. 36, pages 735-757 (March, 1931). 23. WHITE, R. K. "Note on the Psycho-pathology of Genius." _Journal of Social Psychology_, Vol. 1, pages 311-315 (1930). 24. ------ "The Versatility of Genius." _Journal of Social Psychology_, Vol. 2, pages 460-489 (1931). 25. YODER, G. E. "A Study of the Boyhood of Great Men." _Pedagogical Seminary_, Vol. 3, pages 134-156 (1894). [1] EDITORIAL NOTE. No revision of this chapter has been found among the author's papers. In the earlier manuscript reporting but five cases, there was a brief section entitled "Inferences from the Study of Adults," and in the incompletely revised manuscript a list of references is given for this chapter which had not yet been written. The earlier sections and the revised bibliography are, therefore, all that is available for this chapter. The bibliography will be sufficient to guide any reader who may be further interested in the details of the scientific study of adults. [2] EDITORIAL NOTE. Had these pages been written at a later date, or revised by the author, of course the more recent work of C. M. Cox (7), inspired by Terman, would have been considered. CHAPTER THREE PUBLISHED REPORTS ON TESTED CHILDREN Galton and those who built directly upon his pioneer thought about ability were limited to the study of those who had passed the tests of life itself, the study of the old and the dead, upon whom developing theories and processes of education have no bearing. Today one of the principal reasons for obtaining knowledge concerning able persons is that they and others like them may be properly educated for the social functions which they alone can perform. Inferences from study of eminent adults are, therefore, of negligible importance compared to the identification and education of today's gifted children. MODERN APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF ABILITY In 1905 Binet and Simon (3), announcing their scale for the measurement of intelligence in children, rendered it possible to know at the beginning of a human being's existence where--within narrow limits of error--he or she, in comparison with all others, grades in caliber of general intelligence. This work, relating itself to work done also by others--notably Spearman (21) and Thorndike (28, 30)--created a new epoch in the study of ability and inaugurated the so-called modern, or present-day, approach to the subject. BINET'S METHOD