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Sir: The manner and place of Bishop Pike's death are symbolic of his life. His motives and goals were the burning light of curiosity, the examination of origins, the checking of premises, the questioning of absolutes. His personal dilemmas closely paralleled those of a troubled society: rigorous thinking v. religious orthodoxy, individual integrity v. institutional hypocrisy, compassion v. indifference.
Yet we should not mourn his passing, for he found the one treasure in life so often denied us all—the knowledge that man's happiness is its own vindication, that joy is no sin, that all charity begins at home.
ANDREW USCHER
Falls Church, Va.
Rodell Reviewed
Sir: Re the letter from Yale Professor Fred Rodell further castigating the nomination of Judge Clement Haynsworth to the Supreme Court [Sept. 12]: the professor obviously is a man who suffers from frustration. In his frenetic effort to compensate for his failure in self-accomplishment, he has resorted over the years to abrasive attacks on members of his dicipline, and especially on judges. Whether Judge Haynsworth is or is not sufficiently qualified by character and learning to be a member of our highest court is yet to be determined. But, certainly, he is not "slob" and not a "mediocrity." In any event, it was a gratuitous detente for the professor to make the matter of Judge Haynsworth's qualifications the occasion for a wholly uncalled-for assault on such eminent scholars as Professor Freund and Judge Friendly.
SAMUEL H. HOFSTADTER
Justice
Supreme Court of the State of New York Manhattan
Sir: Thank God for little favors. Hayns worth could have been a "mediocre slob from Yale.
B. REA NESMITH
El Paso
Program Notes
Sir: Let's cut out this malarky [Sept 12] about the errors and deficiencies of the computer and put the blame where it belongs: on incompetent and irresponsible help who program these machines.
MAURICE CLAMAGE
Farmington, Mich.
Sir: When the heat of battle lessens some what, the computer will be credited with helping our crowded scientific schedule: by performing lightning-fast computations
It must always be kept in mind that although the computer may well take over the world at some future time, one does; not yet have to worry about one's daughter's ever marrying one.
The computer in our research laboratory has a great sense of humor. The other morning we found the following printout lying beside the machine. It must have worked half the night on this rebuttal.
COMPUTERS HAVE MAGNETIC PERSONALITIES.
COMPUTER PROGRAMS ARE RERUNS.
A COMPUTER IS WELL ORGANIZED. IT HAS A SYSTEM.
A COMPUTER'S SCOPE IS LIMITED
YOU HAVE TO PUNCH A COMPUTER TO MAKE IT WORK.
COMPUTERS ARE KEYED UP.
GOVERNMENT COMPUTERS ARE TIED UP IN MAGNETIC TAPE.
A COMPUTER CAN'T BEAT THE SYSTEM.
And so, realizing that it can't beat the system, maybe it's ready to join it.
JOYCE REVENSON
JOE DELANEY
Human Resources Center
Albertson, N.Y.
Sir: Somebody should fold, spindle and mutilate Harvey Matusow.
DAVID PFAU
St. Catharines, Ont.
Bone of Contention