engrossment

To pursue fully the topic of our research with the limited

facilities that we have, let us forget unrelated pursuits and

the parasitic ideas connected with the futile trifles of everyday

life. Using strength and perseverance, concentrate

deeply only on information pertinent to the question at

hand.

During the gestation period of our work, sentence

ourselves to ignorance of everything else that is going on—

politics, literature, music, and idle gossip. There are occasions

when ignorance is a great virtue, almost a state of

heroism. Useless books distract attention and are thus

weighty, occupying as much space in our brains as on the

library shelf. They can spoil or hinder mental adjustments

to the problem at hand. Although popular opinion may not

agree, “Knowledge occupies space.”