180 SCIENTIST 



who had a lot of interesting things to say about different 

 patterns of delinquency as seen in Japan and the United 

 States when the subject came up after supper. 



The evening went off very well although Jane and Bill 

 exchanged wary glances when the social psychologist who 

 had had one martini more than absolutely necessary insisted 

 on offering a toast to the guests and making a short speech. 

 Actually what he said was all true; and under the circum- 

 stances it went over better and seemed less sentimental than 

 it might if reduced to cold print. The point he wanted to 

 make was how nice it is that a distinguished professor from 

 another culture could come halfway around the world and 

 be perfectly understood as he discussed a subject which 

 brought at least five different scientific speciahties together 

 in the same room. Such an event gave some reason to hope 

 that the first half of the twentieth century, which had done 

 so much to pull people and nations apart, might be followed 

 by a time of greater mutual understanding and unity. 



Since tomorrow was a working day, the party broke up 

 about ten-thirty, and Bill and Jane had an hour or so to- 

 gether cleaning up and putting plates and glasses into the 

 dishwasher before going to bed. This gave them each a 

 chance to catch up with what the other had been doing 

 and to exchange views on the people and the conversation 

 of the evening. 



As he filled Jane in on his talk with Sam Corbin, they 

 fell to discussing the business of making decisions involving 

 one's own future. One thing was clear to them both. You 

 just can't be sure when you decide to choose this or that 

 person for a spouse, and you can't be sure when you choose 

 to be a research chemist instead of a chemical engineer. 

 Actually, you won't be absolutely sure that you were right 

 for a good many years after you've made the decisions. It 



