And Then There Were Nine

AND THEN THERE WERE NINE HOWARD A. SCHNEIDER* It seems a very common experience, and I think I risk little ifI assert its generality, that ifone becomes aware ofsome new bit ofinformation—a word, a person, an event—lo, it quickly will turn up an astonishing number oftimes, and in all the old familiar places at that. If, for example, you learned the name ofone ofthe Virgin Islands because a friend extolled its beauty, and you felt vaguely ill at ease because you knew nothing of its prior existence, then, sure enough, your cloddish ways were confirmed once more when the very next day you saw the prominent travel advertisement which made crystal clear that this little-known spot, this end of the earth, was a frequent port ofcall for all save peasants—and you have never even been to the Caribbean ! Or how about the time you first heard the cool and calculated use ofthe word "dichotomy." The context in which you first encountered it was helpful, you grasped the meaning—it signaled "a division into two parts." And within days there were dichotomies all over the place. Let any faction rise into view and there was a general saluting to the dichotomy which now obviously existed. Trichotomies never caught on, however, and although you were prepared for it, it was reassuring to hear that ancient Gaul had been left in three parts, and not trichotomized. As for people, it was common knowledge, for example, that as its owner modestly allowed, the name Spiro Agnew was not a household word, and his rise in visibility might qualify him as an example ofthis same surfacing phenomenon in one's perceptions. The example, I think, is a forced one, however, and as the years slip by might well be followed by a subsidence beneath the waves ofyour sea ofattention. For there were forces * Institute for Biomedical Research, American Medical Association, 53s N. Dearborn St., Chicago , Illinois 60610. This paper was read to the Chicago Literary Club in January 1969, and is reprinted here with their kind permission. 514 Howard A. Schneider · And Then There Were Nine Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · Summer 1969 then afoot whose sole being was indeed to recommend Spiro Agnew to your attention, and hopefully, your interest. A fairer example might be someone whose claim upon your attention was not forced by overt plans and exercises, but one who cameinto yourken as acork mightbob up and break the surface ofa pond. And now, with no further visible exertions, this person would appear and reappear, and with some frequency, so that now you knew you would never forget him. Such a man, for me, was Charles Babbage. Before he bobbed up in my little world, ofcourse, I never gave him a moment's thought. Why would I? But now he pops up with a frequency high enough so that he has, in fact, become a household word.Just the other day, in my own household, my wife said, turning a page of the New York Times, "Oh, look, here's another interesting piece about Charles Babbage. It seems he wrote a piece ofadvice to Lord Tennyson. Shall I snip this out for you?" Now that we are this far, I think I should make a clean breast ofthings and confess that when I first thought of doing this essay I had in mind something quite different. Charles Babbage is obviously going to be the metaphorical cork, but let me first tell you ofmy relatively quiet pond. A few years ago, as I was planning to come to Chicago andhelp found a new Institute for Biomedical Research for the American Medical Association , I had occasion to draft a sort ofprospectus for the idea ofa new laboratory which was beginning to take shape in my mind. I say it was a new idea, but like so many so-called "new" things, it really was rooted in the old. In order to better understand what might hopefully be new, I thought it well to understand clearly the "old" from which it would emerge. Let me make this clearer by being more explicit even at the risk of an embarrassing over-simplification...