THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

 

Ss! who
Remsen Hall-Dunning Hall
Baltimore, Maryland 21218

Department of Chemistry

 

June 3, 1988

Professor Joshua Lederberg
Office of the President

The Rockefeller University
1230 York Avenue

New York, New York 10021-6399

Dear Professor Lederberg:

Thank you so much for your kind note of April 28, 1988, about our
book, "Organic Chemistry: The Name Game." (Please forgive this late
acknowledgement. I have recently returned from a trip and was not able to
respond sooner.)

I agree with you completely that "trivial" nomenclature is at odds
with the logic of organic chemistry education. Whether, in the long run,
coined terminology helps or hinders this educational process, I can't
say. Our book was more an attempt to place items on record rather than
make judgements about them. But, I am guilty with the rest when it comes
to coining new terms.

Thanks also for including your reprint and excerpt about artificial
intelligence, chemical graphs, etc. I will certainly keep these on file
for possible future use in a revision or in an update article. AS you
realize, Carl Djerassi graciously contributed some material for our book.
I have since learned that he has added "short story writing" to his
accomplishments; I have read one of them (Castor's Dilemma) and found it
absolutely intriguing.

HAY Yours sincerely,
Vous Wy Yd.
we ov Alex Nickon

Professor of Chemistry