ABSTRACT
In 1979, Spencer was interviewed by Gilbert and Mulkay in the course of the study published as Opening Pandora's Box (1984). Late in 1982, Spencer contacted Mulkay and asked whether he would be interested in attending as an observer a small meeting of bioenergeticists. The idea was that the two of them might collaborate in studying, and perhaps eventually help to improve, the processes of technical communication among research scientists. Mulkay declined this invitation. However, in December 1983 he initiated an exchange of letters with Spencer on the same topic. In the first part of this chapter, we will look at the four letters written between December 1983 and March 1984. In the latter month, the correspondents were able to meet for an afternoon of conversation. This was tape-recorded and transcribed; and provides the material for the rest of the chapter.
