Letters to the Editor
A Life's Sermon
TO THE EDITOR:
A distinguished Dartmouth alumnus, Dr. Robert G. McGuire III, of Washington, D.C., Class of'58, recently died in an automobile accident in South Carolina. He was on an errand of mercy, giving inspiration, direction, education and hope to the inhabitants of a small isolated area of the Deep South.
What makes Dr. McGuire's life unique is that he was well-born, handsome, well educated, economically secure, third generation of a venerated black family, who saw fit to cast his lot with those less able to cope with man's inhumanity to man.
Since graduating from Dartmouth, "Mickey" McGuire carved out a life for himself that included service and dedication to the downtrodden and the damned across the world. He served in the Peace Corps in Pakistan where and when the going was tough. In the years after receiving his doctorate, he threw his energies into teaching in colleges and writing where he could personally help black youth grapple with the pervasive problem of unequal opportunity. This present academic year he was to have begun a new and initial experience on the staff of Howard University.
Goldsmith wrote: "A man can preach a better sermon with his life than he can with his lips." I have no better epitaph for Mickey than this quote.
I wrote because I wanted the Class of '58 as well as the entire College to know that there are still men today who turn their backs on treasures and "things" and, like knights of old, quest to help those who are defenseless and alone.
My own life has been greatly enriched by having known this able and exceedingly modest man; and those lives he brightened and enhanced are legion.
Washington, D.C.
(Robert McGuire's obituary appears in thisissue. Ed.)
Hemingway and the Computer
TO THE EDITOR:
I read the article on Hemingway's The OldMan and the Sea, where Professor Mansell describes an application of pattern recognition techniques in trying to determine the correct age of Hemingway's novel.
I admire Professor Mansell's accomplishments, and I hope he continues his work on this most interesting subject. I should like to point out, however, that his essay, as presented in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, does not lead to conclusions - or indications - established scientifically. I shall try to give a few examples below.
No good explanation is given for the fact that only two features were coded for each word. Furthermore, a recorded vocabulary code probably does not exist - otherwise no confusion about coding a word (e.g. "don't") should arise. Without a recorded vocabulary, results are not reproducible. Professor Mansell's assertion that he can attain 95 per cent reproducibility, based on an example given for code 10, is particularly frightening, as the data cited show a mere 83 per cent agreement.
In the F-test table "The Capital of the World," which "leaps high" above the other Hemingway works, is only one unit away from Across the River and into the Trees (written in 1949-50) for the most statistically significant Ftest including all comparisons. No explanation is given as to which measurements were most discriminating, and to what extent, nor do we know what the standards were in calling a measurement "adequately" discriminating, a piece of information usually obtained during the learning .stage.
Finally, I must admit that I should be happier knowing the certainty about the dates of the rest of Hemingway's works which were used to support this report. Also, I should like to see this technique used in a controlled situation, where all the dates are known only to be sure that the learning stage is complete, and the computer, shall we say, knows his lesson well.
Pattern recognition is fun to play with. Unfortunately, it very often is given more credit than it deserves.
Hanover, N.H.
TO THE EDITOR:
I find serious errors in Mr. Mansell's study, published in the September issue, which alleges The Old Man and the Sea was written not when Hemingway claimed to have produced it but instead in 1936, as "pin-pointed" by the computer.
The study compares OMS (its abbreviation), with a second short work, "Capital of the World," published 1936, and also with three novels. Its conclusion, that OMS is similar to COW, seems only a comment on variation of style between short fiction and novels. Its contention that discovered qualities of "sameness" and "unsameness" act as dating indicators seems unsupported.
There are no controls. If short works of the 1920s had been coded, their relation to COW might have discredited the dating quality of "sameness," as in fact certain statistics printed with the article seemed to do. For instance, by the study's logic, To Have and Have Not, written circa 1936, should show the "same" as COW. The printed data indicate the opposite. It does, however, show the "same" as Islands inthe Stream, written in 1949. The indicators don't seem to work for publications of established dates. They work, and are presented, only in support of Mr. Mansell's theory. The study is so tenuous one wonders why it has received such wide publication.
The "mystery" that prompted Mr. Mansellto this study is that OMS was too good to have been written in 1951, notably because it followed Across the River and into the Trees. Because the latter novel got bad reviews, indicating a "decline" in powers, OMS could not have bęen written in 1951.
The historic precedent of Bell Tolls, written after the bad reviews of HAVNOT, discredits this theory.
It could even be argued that the "bad reviews" were wrong, and that TREES was a good book. The essential problem of its critics is to go beyond the personality of this novel, to perceive its true artistic quality. Carlos Baker might back me in this. If we were proven correct, OMS would fit in well with its epoque.
The alternative, that Hemingway could have so casually "hidden" his masterpiece in 1936, and then so massively lied about it in 1952, does not seem supported by the weakness of Mr. Mansell's study.
Concord, N.H.
The President's Report
TO THE EDITOR:
Despite the time lapse since last spring, and a number of previous letters-to-the-editor on the same subject, I would like to make a recommendation: those who may not have read President Kemeny's report, "The First Five Years," should retrieve their April issues of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE and do so. For writing purposes, I have reread and studied the report. That has made me realize that it is a document of all-time significance and importance to us. Our thanks to President Kemeny for the breadth and depth of his report.
Hanover, N.H.
Elephants
TO THE EDITOR:
I enclose part of an article in today's NewYork Times and an ad from the ALUMNI MAGAZINE which also arrived today. In view of the former the latter deserves no place in our magazine. And don't tell me that their elephants are raised on a farm in Sioux City.
Philadelphia. Pa.
(The New York Times article indicated thatelephants "may be on the verge of exterminations"in Africa; the ALUMNI MAGAZINE advertisement promoted a "genuine elephantear wallet." Our speculation is that the elephanthides in question come from animals culled ingovernment management programs and notfrom poachers. Further, the Magazine believesthat advertisers, like letter writers, almostalways should be allowed their say, which is farfrom endorsing what they say. Ed.)
TO THE EDITOR:
I cannot refrain from commenting - frankly and with disgust and revulsion - about the advertisement on page 9 of the September issue (Trader Mark). It seems inconceivable that a product made from elephant ears could be offered for sale anywhere, but to have the advertisement published in the alumni magazine of Dartmouth College runs contrary to every prior image I have had about one of America's finest educational institutions and my now-strained admiration of the heretofore excellent quality of its alumni magazine.
I implore you not to support the abominable practice of the senseless slaughter of nearly extinct animals by continuing the Trader Mark advertisement in future issues.
Exeter, N.H.
Dartmouth's Secret
TO THE EDITOR:
At least part of the offensive surprise and power of the "I" formation diagrammed in your September issue ("Five Plays for All Seasons") must be ascribed to the 12th man that is on the field.
Hanover, N.H.
(We could argue that the diagram shows one ofthe backs in alternate positions, or admit to thediscovery of Dartmouth's secret weapon. Ed.)
A private Affair
TO THE EDITOR: I have just received and returned the Alumni Directory questionnaire sent out to (I presume) all College graduates.
I gave my name, address, and telephone number, but explained that I did not think the College should be in the business of compiling intimate personal data on its alumni; rather, the College should be exhorting its family to resist the mindless and sinister invasion of privacy such data-gathering represents. What with the CIA, the IRS, and the Defense Department busy compiling, filing, using and abusing such information already, and at vast public and cultural cost, we should all feel obliged to stem that tide rather than contribute to it.
I suggest that the Alumni Directory be abolished and that all present and future alumni receive assurances from the College that such data already on hand will not be revealed to anyone without the express consent of the alumnus concerned.
New Lebanon, N. Y.
According to the Secretary of the College,"all information submitted by alumni is limited to officially authorized College use. The Directoryis printed as a service to alumni, many ofwhom use it in volunteer work for Dartmouth." Ed.)
Long-awaited Dream
TO THE EDITOR:
Much has recently been written about Costa Rica and the many American "Pensionados" (retirees) who have settled there. Had it not been for a bout with breast cancer, we would already be among them.
Since I last wrote you, because of the excellent medical facilities in Costa Rica, I have been given the okay to start plans for our move to Guanacaste Province, near Liberia City.
We will soon be building our home in Ranchos Maricosta, where we will have a few cattle for the freezer, horses for our two children, a garden and fruit.and nut trees. It is a long-awaited dream - and we can hardly wait!
Cost of living is still so low and taxes there so nearly nonexistent we can live comfortably òn my husband's modest Navy retirement pay. We can hunt in the nearby mountains, fish in the Pacific and, if we ever tire of that, we can play golf and tennis, or just laze around in the sun (as we used to be able to do in now-many-times-more-expensive Hawaii).
We are really very' excited about this. So much so, in fact, that if any readers would like more information about this beautiful, amazing little country and its Retirement Law, they can write me. I will be happy to share what I know with them.
Hixson. Tenn.
From Bum to Bilious
TO THE EDITOR:
I am being twitted by many of my friends and associates about the college of my choice. They point out that "Big" is usually associated with bum, fool, ape, etc. They say that "Green" connotes unripe, ignorant, bilious, etc.
Therefore, the only logical conclusion is to eliminate "Big Green" from any association with Dartmouth!
Manchester, Conn.
