AAAS ANNUAL MEETING, 26-31 DECEMBER 1967, NEW YORK CITY “The Intelligent Man’s Guide” to the 1967 AAAS Meeting Walter G. Berl, Meeting Editor It will no longer do for scientists to convince each other of the importance of what they are doing and ask the tax payer to take it on faith-DoNa.p F. Hornic Like many cultural institutions with a long history, the AAAS Meeting carries within its structure and as its objectives remnants of the past and seeds of the future. It is a mixture of the old, happily remembered and of the new, as yet untried. It brings with it some untidiness in organization which even loyal followers find difficult to understand. However, it permits flexibility and freedom to experiment. It is, therefore, full of promise. Mypurpose is to introduce the reader briefly on how the pieces of this year’s AAAS Meeting fit together and to persuade him that he would find much pleasure in attending, no matter whether he comesas a representative of the Lay Public, as an Apprentice, a Research Man, Teacher, Administrator, Reporter, or Critic. First, a statistical bird’s-eye view. About 1200 persons will give lectures, participate in panel discussions, contribute to more than 100 symposia and specialized sessions. There will be discussions of national problems (Crime, Science and Technology; Man and Transportation; Marine Science; Defense Against Ballistic Missiles; Political Decision Making; Delivery of Health Services). There will be discussions of many specific subjects (among them Extraterrestrial Life, Evolution of the Earth’s Atmosphere; Animal Communications; Web-Building Spiders; Psychochemical Research Strategies in Man; Molecular Approaches to Learning and Memory; Adhesion in Biological Systems; Measuring Group Achievement in Education; Communications). The Role of Museums in To fit this material into a manageable framework it is arranged in three distinct patterns. Most of the specialized topics originate either with the 20 AAASSections (ranging from Astronomy to Zoology) or with Affiliated Societies joining in with the AAAS Meeting. Topics and par- ticipants are chosen according to the individual best judgments and needs of these groups. Clearly, no uniformity in approach and style can be expected (or even wished for). The result, as shown in the summaries of symposia beginning on page 1347 (and in greater detail in the Meeting Program) is a coverage of scientific and technical problems in breadth and, often, in depth. Added to this extensive program are a much smaller number of symposia and discussions of such a nature that their assignment into the sectional framework is either un- wire or unworkable. These “General Symposia” are organized by AAAS Committees with specific responsibilities or originate spontaneously elsewhere. Many address themselves to questions of the broadest significance and relevance. This year’s choices (summarized on pages 1345 to 1347) illuminate some achievements and unresolved problems facing our nation and the world. A substantial number of Invited Lectures on a variety of 1342 subjects, given by some of the most thoughtful people in this country and abroad, are scattered through the 5 days of the AAAS Meeting(listed on pages 1343 and 1344). They are aimed, together with several panel discussions, at the lay public which expects to be instructed skillfully about important questions posed or answered by science and technology. In addition to the lectures and discussions the AAAS Meeting, for the first time after a long pause, offers to registrants several Tours and Open Houses (Rockefeller University, New York Botanical Garden, New York Zoolog- ical Park, Boyce-Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Haskins Laboratory, Lamont Geological Laboratory of Columbia University, and the Aquarium of the New York Zoological Society). Senior members will review phases of work under way and lead visits to the laboratories. Several exhibits and special lectures are planned. Forinstance, at the Rockefeller University, in conjunction with the symposium on “Michael Faraday—Natural Philosopher” and a lecture demonstration by Ronald King of the Royal Institution (London) an exhibit will commemorate the cen- tennial of the death of Michael Faraday. The John Pierpont Morgan Library, the New York Public Library, and the New York Botanical Garden will show special displays from their extensive collections. The Sierra Club, IBM Galleries, New York Historical Society, and American Museum of Natural History will invite registrants to visit their current exhibits. Lastly, the AAAS Science Film Theatre will show many award-winning films from the recent XXIst International Science Film Festival, the complete series of “Lewis Mumford on the City” and film-illustrated lectures by Gerald Holton (Harvard) on “People and Particles,” by Walter A. Starck II (University of Miami) on “A Fish-Eye View of Alligator Reef,” and by Peter Morris (Canadian Film Institute) on “Seventy-five Years of Scientific Films: 1890-1965”(see pages 1366 and 1367). Ia summary, then, the technical program ranges from subjects of broad and general interest to a large number of more specialized topics. The “mix” that any one participant will select for himself depends on his particular interests and resiliency. The specialized sessions should give pleasure to those who have a direct professional interest in them. The objectives of the AAAS Meeting would not be served, however, if participation at such sessions were the only reason for attending for, then, the hundreds of meet- ings of professional societies would serve as well or better. Rather, the AAAS Meeting, in its variety, offers opportuni- ties to people who do not want to be restrained by rigid and artificial boundaries on their outlook and who wish to observe and participate in the much wider purpose of the AAAS. Oneis intelligent “cross-linking” among the professionals. The otheris to give the public (and the individual professional) an opportunity to take part in the discussions, to discover connections, to ponder causes, and to glimpse a bit of the future. SCIENCE, VOL. 158