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however, conceived of a new way to bolster this conclusion: an “absolute”
measure of earthquake intensity.
Holden's contributions to American seismology were shaped by a para-
dox: he craved public attention but had no talent for making friends. His
long list of popular writings show him to be a prolific and “facile” writer.
75
Alongside scientific popularizations, he translated poetry and penned mag-
azine articles under a pseudonym. He was better known as the founder of
the country's “only truly successful” association for astronomy in this pe-
riod, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.76
76
Holden wanted the society to
be “popular in the best sense of the word.”
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He saw the ASP and its journal
as a forum for communication between professionals and amateurs, to the
benefit of both. “The few professional astronomers in our midst will here
lose that sense of intellectual and professional isolation which is a draw-
back and a danger. . . . The opportunity to communicate the results of one's
work readily and quickly is of the highest value; and 'the end of all observa-
tion is communication.'”
78
Like astronomy, seismology struck Holden as a
field peculiarly suited to amateur participation. As he became interested in
earthquakes as geophysical phenomena (and not just as a disturbing fac-
tor), he recognized a new opportunity for popular science. in an 1889 ar-
ticle for
Century
magazine on “earthquakes and How to Measure Them,”
he appealed to “occasional observers, whose records may be of the greatest
value.” Rather than soliciting felt reports, however, Holden recommended
the purchase of a duplex seismometer. “The instrument is extraordinarily
simple and inexpensive, and requires next to no attention. it will give me
pleasure to advise with any one [
sic
] who may feel willing to undertake ob-
servations of this kind.”
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On the surface, then, Holden's efforts on behalf of seismology resembled
those of the Swiss earthquake Commission. He reached out to the public,
even to “occasional observers,” and sought to educate them about the na-
ture of earthquakes. Like the Swiss, he saw this as a bottom-up project: “if
results can be attained at all, we must begin by studying the statistics of
small regions.”
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Unlike the Swiss, however, Holden defined his goal for
seismology narrowly: a “mechanical” account of the propagation of shock
waves. Holden tried to distinguish further between the “geologist's” interest
in the
cause
of seismic shocks and the “mechanician's or physicist's” interest
in how shock waves
propagate.
He struggled to relate this distinction to a
presumed contrast between “popular” and “scientific” language:
There is little or no confusion of meaning produced by the use of the term
earthquake in ordinary speaking and writing, but the moment an accurate
