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AUTHOR: Whitlock , [serreeg uf my) c>- Crennrb

Chemeyn:
TITLE: Comm. Ed.: A Chemical Automaton (2484)

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COMMENTS:

This paper is so brief that it has to be accepted aa little
more than an announcement of some interesting progress. I can sympathize
with the author's dilemma that the JACS probably would not accept a ms.
on thia subject that exposes enough detail for a critical analysis of
the mechanization of ite logic. In the circumstances, a condition for
publication ought to be the addition of a statement that more detailed
accounts are available as technical reports or infommal papers that
can be obtained on application by intereated readers.

While the as. was in my hands, the extensive account by
Corey and Wipke appeared in Science (Oct. 10) and the paper probably
would profit from the inclusion of some comparative discussion, It
probably would also be illuminating to compare the "fgp's defined here
with the "functional groups" of itef. 1. (The peeurve objective, recur-
sive definition is intemresting, and the author should have no difficulty
in dealing with this, It is also just as "bad" as he points out too.)

In view of the limitations modestly but correctly pointed
out by the author on ms. p. 6, one might question whether the contribution
is so urgent as to demand acceptance as a "communication to theeditor."
Perhaps the Coreye}ipke paper answers that.

- -_— 7

The above sounds too critical, This is an important field of investigation,
for which there are few good avenuea of publication that can reach the
appropriate audience. The JACS should encourage the exposition of this
kind of progress, preciséty because the firat steps are rather feeble and
poorly connected. In future, however, editors may well ask authors to
justify why (when and if) programs are re-developed from acratch rather
than built on concepts published in JACS and ejually accessibleliterature.
This is not to suggest that the present contribution would fail by that
criterion.