Meta-Summary — Second Week

Abstract

To give a summary of a week filled with lectures, which were already summaries (and quite excellent ones) of research fields, means to give a meta-summary, which is rather a task for a philosopher. Now I certainly am a “lover of wisdom”, but this is probably a common feature of all people in the audience as well (we are all physicists, the majority consists even of theorists). So I dont feel particularly apt for my task. I feel old enough to have some distance from the subjects discussed here, but not old enough to be wise. Also with respect to the entertainment, which a reviewer owes to his audience, I am certainly inferior to the summary speaker(s) of the past meetings. So I was not very happy, when I was talked into this job. You must be content, if my summary will see matters through the inverse of a considerably magnifying looking-glass with personally tilted optics. My consolation is the fact, that summaries are not followed by a discussion, so that I shall not be ruined by the audience.

Summary given at XV. Internationale Universitätswochen für Kernphysik,Schladming, Austria,February 16–27,1976.