(617) 448-5132

JOHN M. R. BRUNER. M. D.
4 SCHOOL STREET

GROTON, MASSACHUSETTS 01450

March 6, 1970

Professor Joshua Lederberg
Department of Genetics
School of Medicine
Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305

Dear Professor Lederberg:

Thank you for the copy of your column for January 3lst. It
was fascinating. I marvel over what sort of bibliographic
system you must have developed in order to retrieve and re-
late these bits of information.

Dalziel must be a great person. I have never had the pleasure
of meeting him face to face, but have depended on his material
for a long time. He, Ferris, King, and, of course, the great
Kouwenhoven of Hopkins are among the great pioneers in a field
about which the public knows very little. Someone ought to
prepare an historical note on this work.

Your remarks about occupying "a somewhat lonely place in the
academic world for having maintained a systematic interest in
teaching about designing for safety" struck a responsive chord,
Other professional people generally seem to regard Dalziel's
type of work as not being "man's work" appropriate of notice.
Yet, this subject is recently getting quite hot what with Carl
Walter's pronouncement about hospital accidents along with the
rise in consumer questioning. I hope the pendulum won't get
out of control in its swing to the opposite direction.

I have been looking into the GFI, and agree that it is poten-
tially useful. However, substantial immediate progress is
possible in safety through the application of existing know-
ledge and the use of available and inexpensive equipment. The
block lies in that safe practices call for implementation of
virtuous principles, otherwise known as hard work. I think

that proposed "black boxes", therefore, have a negative value

in that they distract attention from more appropriate activities.
They become like icons, symbols of piety that confer a feeling
of grace while the individual continues his same old ways.

The discussion appended to the electric bed incident should not
obscure the main issue: the design of the control system was
stupid, and sloppy quality control made it worse.
I am pleased to enclose a reprint of the NEJM article along
with two related papers for your files.

Thank you for thinking of me.

Yours truly,

aves WoR. Bou we

John M. R. Bruner, M. D.

Enclosures.