episode_0026

Episode 26. Finally Pasteur (2)

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Dean of the Department of Healing, Imperial Academy.

Fredolin Fischer.

He was looking through the new papers that had been published in the journal. What kind of papers were coming out this time that were eating up research funds like this?

The Department of Healing is large, but it doesn’t have thousands of healing professors. If you want, you can see them all in person.

At least as long as they don’t pile up. At most, there’s only a few per day.

“Mr. Moritz. Have you seen this?”

“What are you talking about?”

“This new professor has already published three papers. Microscope, Bacteria, and Epidemic Dysentery.”

“Ah. It’s a hot topic these days.”

“Was it like that?”

“Do you remember that I received a letter of recommendation from the royal family? Some people call me a quack, while others say that I am truly talented.”

“I’ll have to look at it again. What’s your opinion on the paper? Is it good? Or is it nonsense?”

“I think there are some holes. Maybe it’s a leap of thinking. In my opinion, yes. The content itself looks good.”

The Dean of the Department of Healing Science handed the paper over again.

“Disease-causing particles? I bet you got a lot of hate from your fellow professors for this. Isn’t that wrong?”

“I guess it’s a minority opinion. They claim to have proven it experimentally.”

“Oh my.”

“They say they found a solution to the epidemic dysentery? That’s according to the documents the Lord of Lapis sent to the journal and the academy.”

A new professor from a high place, with unknown origins. New theories, new experiments, and a burning interest in academia.

“It’s fun. I have to go see it next time.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I should see the face of the professor who threw down the gauntlet to the academic world with a single article. Well, the content is likely wrong.

He was a young professor who had barely earned his PhD. Still, the Dean thought that his ambition was commendable.

still.

Academia is not a place where people with connections or status can communicate. Even if you are a royal healer, if you want to make a claim, you have to present it experimentally.

****

Pasteur, Pasteur, Pasteur.

I think a lot of people are tired of hearing that name. I can understand that feeling, but it’s still a long way off.

Denial of spontaneous generation, proof of germ theory, low-temperature pasteurization of milk, principles of vaccines, methods of raising silkworms. This guy has so much going for him.

There’s nothing I can do.

Shouldn’t we hear Pasteur’s name for another 10 years? If you look at the history of Korea, Pasteur’s name was written on every milk carton.

“Actually, this experiment is also being done to show others. We know, right? Because we use the same principle when using culture medium.”

Istina sighed.

“This is really… … . difficult.”

“The experiment itself is simple.”

Still, the preparations are complete.

All that’s left is to run away with Pasteur’s experiments and papers. I’ll borrow some research, senior.

And, the classroom.

I prepared quite diligently for today’s class.

The classroom was bustling with students again today. Today, there were no rude professors trying to take over other people’s classes.

Thank goodness. If the academic community at the Academy had known what class I was going to teach today, my class would have been packed again today.

Two swan-necked flasks were placed beside the lectern. They were of a fairly large size. They could be seen from the end of the lecture hall.

I looked around the classroom.

“I think I mentioned that. How can we prove that mold and decay are caused by particulate matter in the air, not spontaneously or due to odor?”

Istina looked at me from the front seat.

I’ve said this many times, but undergraduates need to repeat it to understand. More importantly, undergraduates need to come to their own conclusions. They need to understand the logical structure of the experiment.

“First, you need to formulate a hypothesis in the form of a falsifiable proposition. What should I say?”

There was no answer.

“Mr. Oliver. Guess.”

“Food spoilage occurs due to contact with airborne particles, i.e. other living organisms.”

“Okay.”

I wrote Oliver’s words on the board.

The chalk broke once.

“Yes. The above hypothesis is against the common sense of society and academia. Since surprising claims require surprising evidence, we must design a logically flawless experiment.”

“You can compare the results by inducing food spoilage in a controlled environment.”

Istina nodded from the front seat.

“You will need to obtain samples that are not yet contaminated, and create samples that are exposed to airborne particulates and samples that are not exposed.”

“It would be good to have an experimental group with active intervention by the researcher, and a control group for comparison. To be specific here… … .”

I glanced around the classroom again.

After a while, Amy raised her hand.

“Yes, Miss Amy.”

“Oh, it would be a good idea to separate the sterilized food into a control group exposed to air and an experimental group not exposed to air!”

“That’s right.”

The experimental design is complete. Sterilized food is divided into a control group exposed to air and an experimental group not exposed to air to induce spoilage.

“The experimental design is complete. Before starting the experiment, let’s look at the assumptions used in the experiment.”

“What is your assumption?”

Istina scratched her head from the front row. However, these are things that are absolutely necessary for a successful experiment.

“First. The process of making sterilized food. If you boil it and apply a purification spell, will it be enough to kill germs?”

A brief rumbling sound.

“Professor. Doesn’t that affect the success or failure of the experiment? Should I consider it?”

As an undergraduate student, you might be wondering why I am mentioning this now, as it could provide evidence to refute my experiment.

But that’s not what the scientific methodology is about.

“That’s true. The purpose of an experiment is to verify a falsifiable proposition. It would be difficult to do science if you were afraid of falsification, right?”

The assumptions need to be examined a bit, because the assumptions made in the experimental design are not falsifiable propositions in the experiment.

Well then, back.

“If you boil meat soup here and cast a purification spell, the particles will disappear. It makes logical sense, but it is an assumption that is subject to verification in itself.”

The classroom was buzzing with activity, and the rustling of paper and pens was audible.

“Second. How can we stop the movement of dust or particles floating in the air without stopping the movement of the air itself?”

Pasteur blocked the opening of the swan-necked flask with water. This method was said to prevent the movement of dust and particles floating in the air while allowing air to pass through.

A hand went up from the back of the classroom.

“It’s water. Gases will pass through it, but particles will be caught in water. Isn’t that why you brought it in a swan-necked flask?”

That’s a smart answer for an undergraduate.

“Very good- What is the teacher doing there?”

“Take class.”

Violet, one of the royal healers.

Here we go again.

“I see you a lot these days, teacher. Don’t you have anything to do, Violet?”

“Yes.”

Yeah… … . That would be more productive than sitting in the palace infirmary playing poker. I let out a small sigh and resumed my writing.

“Anyway. Second assumption. We made the assumption that water will allow gases to pass through while filtering out particulates.”

This is also true. It sounds right and is actually right, but it is an assumption that has not yet been experimentally verified.

It needs to be mentioned.

“As you can see, this experiment made two major assumptions. You need to keep these in mind if the experiment succeeds or fails.”

I put down the chalk and looked back at the classroom. It was time to start the experiment in earnest.

****

It seems like we’ve been talking about this for a while, maybe three days. I don’t need to explain it any further. It only took a few minutes to actually perform the experiment.

And… … . finished.

“Let’s see in a few days. If the sample that was not exposed to airborne particles does not decay, and the sample that was exposed to air decays, then the hypothesis is proven. That’s the only case out of the four.”

The undergraduates nodded.

“That’s all for today’s class. Everyone worked hard, and I’ll see you in the next class later to see how the flasks are.”

Tak. I put down the chalk. The undergraduate students left the classroom one by one today as well.

****

I, as always, took Istina with me and left the classroom. I hoped the experiment would go well, but there was no guarantee that it would.

Meat broth that was thought to be sterilized may actually contain bacteria or contaminants, or the control group may not be sterilized and thus no significant results can be obtained.

In the end, it’s a problem that you have to try to find out. I experimented with it before class, and the meat soup got covered in flies after about two days. Thanks to the flies getting away first, there was almost no mold.

“I hope the experiment goes well?”

“Nothing is certain.”

“That’s right, I think they were going to publish the cholera paper? It seems like the paper was sent outside the academy. Including the microscopy paper.”

“Thank goodness.”