Sir: Dr John Linklater (November 17) has unusual capabilities. He
transforms opinion into fact (" Never have the young known more about sex. Nor have they ever been more promiscuous ") and makes assertive deductions from non-proven suppositions (" the promiscuity rate is increasing in direct proportion to the increase in sex education.") Even before the arrival of modern scientific methodology, doctors were often capable of diagnosing illness. The power was not only God-given — it was assisted by painstaking application of logical deduction. It would be no dis-service to contemporary medicine if those quick to publish personal and !pejorative statements would first obtain validated data and make appropriate and logical deductions.
Miss Valerie Riches (December 1) on behalf of The Responsible Society tells readers that Dr Linklater has expressed "informed and responsible medical opinion." It should be made clear however that, in spite of his use of the plural pronoun, Dr Linklater alone was responsible for his letter and, as a yard-stick of the validity of
the -fact provided by that writer, readers are advised to refresh their
memory of the Bible. In Genesis they will find tales of youthful sexual promiscuity to defy comparison with our modern young, who, there is no doubt, are exposed to far more sex education than their bretheren of
yore. Godfrey D. Ripley
1 Aldenham Grove, Radlett, Hertfordshire
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