Uncle John Wants You For the Baxter Festival by Malcolm Handte while at the same time emphasizing Baxter [to be known as the "Court The Baxter· Works Committee, the importance of its role as the of Man"] will be used to [in the headed by John Bennett, will hold new home of the Humanities at words of the committee] "empha­ an important meeting tonight at Caltech. The festival will include as size Man in a very personal, 8:00 p.m. in Clubroom Two, participants and guests both on and friendly, communicative, and inter­ Winnett. The purpose of the off campus members of the CaItech active way." The intent is to meeting will be to set in motion the community. counterbalance the stark geometry committee's plans for the opening Guidlines of the building with the humanism of Baxter Hall, which will be During a series of meetings which of the disciplines that will occupy celebrated after sundown on May began early in second term, the it. (3) Several activities will take 23. People and equipment are still committee devised the following set place inside the building, thus needed for several of the projects. of guidlines: (I) Rather than creating an atmosphere of openness The committee's goal is to make construct an ex tensive art and and welcome, and at the same time the Baxter festival something more technology show of questionable allowing Baxter to "participate" in than the social ri tual of a typical artistic merit, efforts will be con­ its own opening. building opening. Instead, they fined to highlighting the building Current Plans envision a broader celebration, one itself, ,in a variety of frequently Current plans for the exterior that would highlight Baxter's strik­ surrealistic and principly optical displays include fog, laser project- ing (and expensive) architecture, ways. (2) The courtyard in fron t of Continued on Page Two ~RlIFORNIA Copyright 1971 by the Associated Students of the CaliforniaTechInstitute of Technology. Incorp0rated. Volume LXXII Pasadena, California, Thursday, April 15, 1971 Number 24 Aero 241 Beckman on Beckman Make Up Your Mind! Cary Lu Breaks Records at Beckman by Peter Beckman Myopia or nearsightedness, af­ by Paul Levin Most decision-making has another In the introduction to Monday fected several important impres­ Everybody has to make de­ bad characteristic: people tend to night's Beckman Lecture it was sionist painters. Renoir was cisions. In our society they are as equate the quality of the decision noted that the speaker, Cary Lu, definately myopic while Cezanne necessary as birth, death, and taxes. with the quality of the result. Take, was setting two new firsts, Not only may have had myopia and other eye Yet most of these decisions are for example, a game in which the was he the first graduate student to problems related to his diabetes. made' without recourse to logic contestant must call the toss of a give a Beckman Lecture, but his Other eye diseases have plagued according to Dr. Ronald Howard, coin. If he is right, he wins $100; if title, "The Contribution of Progres­ articst throughout history. El Greco Professor of Engineering-Economic he is wrong, he wins nothing. If you sive Myopia to the Rise of and Hans Holbien have been Systems at Stanford. He claims this paid $5 to play the game and lost, Impressionism: Visual Problems in accused of astigmatism, where the is fortunate. If every decision was you would call it a bad decision (to the History of Art," was the longest horizontal and vertical components made logically, decisions analysts play), but if you paid, played, and title ever given to one of the of the image to not focus to the would be out of business. won, you would call it a good Monday night talks. The lecture same spot, because of the elonga­ Dr. Ronald Howard According to Dr. Howard in­ decision. Logically, though, the ended with a third record - the tion of their painted figures. These tuitive decision-making is not at all decision to play was a good one, longest ovation given at the Lect­ are actually due to the artist's bad in most cases. In fact, it would assuming the coin was fair. ures this year. styles, since astigmatism as large as be waste of time for many everyday To Be Or Not To Be? Tech Is Out This was understandable in light the pictures would indicate would problems. But on large matters or In making a logical decision, the of the excellence of the present­ cause effective blindness. One paint· complex ones this type of decision­ goal of decision analysis, one must ation. With rare flair Mr. Lu used er, John Singer Sargent, was truly making leaves one groping for a consider three factors: value assign­ Beckman's visual facilities to the astigmatic, but this shows up in that somewhat more positive reason on ment, time preference, and risk For Blood! fullest, and he usually had four or the colors he used were not in the which to base the decision. preference. Imagine that you are five slides projectors working simul­ proportions of the figures. taneously. They were used in Usually Needs Glasses afflicted by a certain disease. The by David Peisner parallel to compare works of art, One problem, which affects doctor tells you that there are two Do you feel like doing something and in series with each unit everyone, is presbyopia, the stiffen­ Trustee Bechtel ways of curing it: a) a wonder drug, different outside of the usual grind projecting part of a painting so that ing of the eye's lens due to the or ~) one day in the hospital with tomorrow? How about giving the whole work showed on the aging process. This is apparent in terrible pain ("like having four blood ? Tomorrow, between 11:00 'screen tremendously enlarged. the works of Rembrant ant Titan. wisdom teeth removed without an and 3: 30 the Red Cross will sponsor To Visit Tech In the Eye of the Beholder As the artists grew older and lost anestetic"). If either treatment is the annual Caltech Bloodmobile at In the first part of his present­ their ability to focus their eyes Stephen Bechtel, Caltech trustee free, your choice is obvious. Culbertson Hall. ation, Mr. Lu explained optical closely, their paintings grew less and president of the Bechtel Imagine that each cure has a The blood program is a service diseases and deficiencies and com­ sharp. Corporation, will give a seminar in price tag. (Wonder drugs cost that was established by the Red pared the works of artists who may Other artists were affected by Winnett Lounge next Wednesday. money, you know.) If the hospital Cross to provide almost half the (or may not) have suffered from the cataracts, where the lens clouds, and He will discuss Bechtel Corporation, treatment costs $n and the wonder whole blood required by civilian diseases. Continued on Page Three one of the largest engineering firms drug costs $(n+x), how big can x hospitals throughout the nation. in the world, the role of its get before you will decide to go to The benefits of the program are far engineers, and the corporation's role the hospital? ranging. They include the use of Reorientation in the world today. You are now told that if you whole blood for operations (up to This will be part of a one-day elect the hospital cure, you will 12 pints or the equivalent amount visit to Cal tech by Bechtel, It will have to go through the same agony of blood in your body is required include coffee and lunch in the once a year for the rest of your life. for a single open heart operation) student houses and visiting an Env Now how large does x have to be and blood derivatives for treatmen t 112 class. Wednesday night Bechtel before you will go to the hospital? of shock, burns, anemia, measles, will meet with student leaders in Suppose tlfat the cures are free liver and kidney diseases, and many the Athanaeum. and that just one day in the other diseases. World Wide hospital will cure you forever. Your It generally has been a miscon­ The company which Bechtel doctor now tells you that there is a ception that a donor had to be 21 heads is in charge of large construct­ probability p that the wonder drug to give but the Red Cross recently ion projects throughout the world. will kill you. How large does p have changed the rules to allow anyone Bechtel Corp. is one of the chief to be before you will go to the over 18 with certain qualifications contractors fer the Bay Area Rapid hospital? to donate one pint of blood. Transit District, and is deeply Yes! Unfortunately, if you are unhealthy involved with the Navajo Generating In these cases you were really under 110 pounds, or have been Station project which will use coal asked: What value do you place on tattooed Within the last six months, as fuel. physical pain? What is time worth you are ineligible. The following Saturday. a tour to you? What risk arc you willing to As an extra added attraction, the of the Bechtel Corporation plant in take? Dr. Howard posed one more Hertz-Rent-A-Car agency on Vernon has been arranged for question: In the last case, how Colorado Blvd. (the same company Cal tech students. The number of much would you be willing to pay that gives special week-end rates to Interested Frosh discussed their problems while eagerly awaiting Stott/e­ participants is limited so everyone an honest clarvoyant for certain Cal tech students) has agreed to meyers sandwiches at Saturday's Freshman Education Workshop.