Abstract :
Wescon stands for Western Electronic Show and Convention. A four-day technical program, sponsored and planned in alternate years by the San Francisco and Los Angeles (USA) Sections, is combined with a technical exhibit promoted by the Western Electronic Manufacturers Association (WEMA). This year marked the 20th anniversary of this association. The Show stresses the component as the element of electronic systems, rather than complete devices or systems themselves. Education in the technical functioning of these components is the prime purpose of the show, rather than the sales that may ultimately result from that education. A brief overview of several show events is given. In the item \´Statistics in action\´ the author posits the thesis that EE graduates, for perhaps 30 years (or since the advent of electronics in the educational pattern), have represented the intellectual campus cream. Added to this has been the fortunate circumstance that our major employers, for the same period, have recognized the value of intellect and have encouraged its development. We have not suffered from the attitudes of some production industries, which have refused to gamble on the high-point-average student because of the chance of drawing a personality blank or a screwball; instead, our major employers at the college level have said, "Give us the man with demonstrated ability to learn, and we will somehow live with him."
