From I. HANSON
Perhaps Sidney Perkowitz has forgotten to mention a certain type found
in the laboratory, or is he singularly lucky in never having met one? I
refer to the variety known as Finger Trouble (‘The march of the science
platoon’, Forum, 9 February).
This type may be encountered at any level from postgraduate upwards.
When cornered, they are instantly recognisable by a typical cry of ‘Oh but
I only ..’ (as in ‘Oh but I only pressed this button here/twiddled this
knob just a wee bit/let just a tiny bit of air in/went for tea for two minutes’
and so on).
They are often of otherwise fairly high intelligence, but appear to
lack a certain practicality. It must be admitted that the phenomenon is
not well understood, nor is it susceptible to any known remedy (except total
quarantine). Any suggestions as to its handling would be most welcome.
I. Hanson University of Liverpool
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