American Scientist

To the Editors:

I truly enjoyed Henry Petroski's column "What's in a Name Tag?" (Engineering, July-August). Over 30 years, I attended many conferences and accumulated many name tags. Upon returning to my office, it was my custom to put the tag in my bottom drawer. When it came time for me to retire, my secretary wanted to know if I would give up my old name tags. I assumed she wanted to use the then-new computer label program to print the names of those attending my retirement party, since attendees included co-workers, churchgoers, various professional society members and just plain friends. At the entrance to the event there was a table with all of my name tags, all still with my name on them. It turned out to be the best ice-breaker, as every one looked at the other's name and said, "Hi, Don, I'm Don. Pleased to meet you." It really didn't matter who the other person was as they were all there to celebrate with us. It set the mood for a wonderful evening.

Donald B. Aulenbach
Clifton Park, NY

To the Editors:

It was fun to read Dr. Petroski's column on the "classic design problem" of name tags for conference delegates. However, Dr. Petroski has apparently not enjoyed the honor of attending conferences in the former German Democratic Republic. When I was there for biomedical conferences in the 1980s, my name tags in Dresden and East-Berlin were extremely efficient from the point of view of controlling whom I would speak with, but not from the point of view of my being recognized as an individual scientist. My name tags showed in very large letters "THE NETHERLANDS" and in miniature letters my name. I did not keep these unsympathetic tags, so I am unable to follow Dr. Petroski's example and send you a picture.

Johan E. Vos
Amsterdam