402 Edited by Henry Quastler 



of successful attempts; one is reluctant to admit any basic element of purpose — 

 yet it might be better to bring it to the surface for a dispassionate inquiry. 

 The question arose whether it was preferable to use information theory 

 only in a semi-quantitative fashion, to account for general trends in observed 

 data, or buttressed by measurements. The advantage of working with actual 

 numerical estimates is obvious, but against it is the irreducibly relative 

 nature of information measures. No unanimity existed concerning this 

 question. There is general agreement that data properly usable are scarce, 

 that there is a slight risk involved in using data from the literature which are 

 inadequate for this purpose, and that the procurement of more pertinent and 

 better data will yield material which would hardly have been produced otherwise. 

 Future meetings might be designed to give stimulus and continuity to production 

 of data which are more cogent and amenable to information theory. There 

 was general agreement that further meetings should and will be arranged — 

 and that information theory is here to stay in biology. 



