Bell Laboratories

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Research and Patents Phone (201) 582-3423

August 22, 1972

Professor Joshua Lederberg
Department of Genetics

Standord University School of Medicine
Stanford University Medical Center
Stanford, California 94305

Dear Josh:

How nice to hear from you in recollection of the pleasant
gathering we had at Annual Reviews last fall. Your associated memory
is adroit, for on the one hand you have caught the spirit, in your
letter received August 2lst, about the random qualities of achieving
cross references, and on the other hand the connection with the most
famous treatment of a certain kind of scattering of waves (or photons)--
that of Lord Rayleigh. Indeed, I have traced out the records of
Lord Rayleigh's sapient comment that I had quoted, Not surprisingly,
the literature of the comment was a little imprecise too. The remark
was apparently first made in his Address to the British Association at
the 54th Meeting in 1884. This report was published in 1885 by Murray
of London, but the republication of his scientific papers by Dover of
New York, covering the period 1881-1887, has a slightly although not
significantly different wording. Anyway, the nearest we can find to the
original reads, ''By a fiction as remarkable as any to be found in law,
what has once been published, even though it be in the Russian language,
is usually spoken of as 'known', and it is often forgotten that the redis -
covery in the library may be a more difficult and uncertain process than
the first discovery in the laboratory."

oo pds

So your query has provided another fascinating exercise in
the cumulative cues to learning. For your concept of the problem of
references and, indeed, of a central role of Lord Rayleigh in the litera-
ture as well as in the body of science provides a perfectly reasonable
link with what I quoted, although the words of description are very
diffe rent.

Top) fy Seer

1a f[ st
Professor Joshua Lederberg - 2

Iam sorry to have had to miss the last meeting at the Annual
Reviews, because of irresolvable conflict, which I saw coming long
before, I am evidently caught in the inevitable cycle now, since I had
adjusted to this fall's schedule, but then the change in meeting date that
I heard about when the minutes arrived a week or two ago is again in
conflict, so] shall have totry harder. Anyway, I shall hope to see you
somewhere soon, I am much concerned about the Internal Revenue
Service attitudes on Annual Reviews, and shall try to add some effort to
the present plans for seeking relief,

With warm personal wishes, Jam

Sincerely,

Bro