Mareh 4, 1976

Professor Hand Freudenthal

Department of Pure and Applied Mathematics
Utrecht University

Utrecht, The Netherlands

Dear Profeseor Freudenthal,

Although I am the furthest thing from a mathematician I
have shared certain interests with you and in particular found
your book “Lincos" quite fascinating.

I am writing at the moment simply from just having discovered
a reference to a paper by Hogben of which I had not previously been
aware and which is attached here and under. yo

I have also somewhere seen the remark that the transmission
of a démensionless number like the fine-structure constant to what-
ever precision we know it today would convey a great deal of in-
formation about the present status of our civilization, posssibly
including some of its neoplastic exuberances. If you happened to
recall the source of this attribution I would be greatful to you

for it.
Sincerely yours,

Joshua Lederberg
Profeasor of Genetics

P. S. TL am very well aware that ‘Lincos" is really not at all about
interstellar communication. I wonder if you have thought about
the minimum conditions for proving the correctness of a specific
interpretation of worka ina lost language like Etruscan or Mayan
accent a specific dictionary. This, of course, leaves one with
little more than internal inconsistency as a criterion.To turn this
viewpoint inside out could one not argue that the transmission of
the English text of your book would provide aufficient information
that the correct induction would necessarily be arrived at by any
moderately (I almost said sufficiently) skilled and diligent
civilization.

Va ue Led. lay See. I: 258 19852

WHLN SE C08dd