The Philadelphia Story

More than 5,000 scientists of every professional persuasion descended on Philadelphia last week for the 138th annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Despite the locale, the five-day-long extravaganza was notable for an absence of brotherly love. As in the past few years, the traditional A.A.A.S. post-Christmas gathering was long on the verbiage of political protest by radical young scientists and short on reports of noteworthy scientific progress.

The tone of the proceedings was established early in the week during an appearance by former Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who came to discuss ways of ensuring peace. His talk was repeatedly disrupted by catcalls; one young scientist even hurled a tomato at the Minnesota Senator (the missile missed). Muttered the tomato thrower as he was led off by police: "I could have hit him between the eyes if I wanted to." In a counterprotest, former Presidential Aide Daniel Moynihan, now a professor at Harvard and a newly elected A.A.A.S. vice president, angrily canceled his own planned speech (title: "Waste Disposal in an Age of Rubbish") and indignantly told a press conference: "I'm a political scientist and I smell fascism."

The boisterous outbreaks continued throughout the week, especially during sessions that touched on the relationship between science and society. Eight protesters, for example, sprawled on the floor while panelists discussed ways of meeting U.S. energy needs without jeopardizing the environment. In spite of such annoyances, however, A.A.A.S. leaders were remarkably indulgent, rarely if ever calling on police to evict demonstrators. Indeed, at times the politicking seemed to be welcomed, as when a tall, blonde model passed out literature for a splinter group called the Federation of American Scientists.

Some A.A.A.S. leaders sympathized so strongly with the dissenters that they went out of their way to praise the petulant protests. Environmentalist Barry Commoner, who is a member of the association's board of directors, rebuked Moynihan for his walkout and said that the protests against Humphrey may well have stiffened the Senator's disapproval of U.S. policies in Southeast Asia, which Commoner also has heartily denounced. Added retiring A.A.A.S. President Athelstan Spilhaus: "If there weren't these disruptions, it would mean that these meetings were not significant."

What the meetings did signify scientifically, Geophysicist Spilhaus did not say.

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