What was going on when I was born?

Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister, said today that his country's moderate oil pricing policy would remain unchanged whether or not the United States Congress rejected the sale of Awacs reconnaissance planes. His remarks came as a United States Senate committee debated the sale. The Administration has argued that rejection would damage Saudi-American ties. But Sheik Yamani and other Saudi officials have said the Saudis would not take drastic action if the sale collapsed.

The Westchester County Board of Legislators took a decisive step today toward creating a public power agency that would replace the Consolidated Edison Company as the local supplier of electrical power, presumably at lower cost to consumers. The board, acting unanimously, set Oct. 5 for a public hearing on a referendum that the board is expected to put before the voters next March 16. If approved by the voters, the referendum would establish a municipal agency that could buy low-cost hydroelectric power from the state and distribute it by leasing Con Edison's network, or by selling it to the utility for resale to customers. Similar Effort Rejected The legislative sponsor of the plan maintained that the lower rates would result in part from the new agency's tax advantages as a municipal body, but a Con Edison spokesman disputed this view.

The stock market made a dramatic recovery following an early avalanche of heavy selling yesterday, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 18.55 points, to 842.56, its biggest daily gain in more than six months. ''The market was oversold and ripe for people to start buying,'' said John C. Pistell, chief analyst of Stires & Company. After plunging more than 15 points in the first 30 minutes of trading, the blue-chip average recovered sharply and was up 7 points at 2 P.M. Selling pressure then intensified again and the Dow was off 1.52 points at 3 P.M. However, stepped-up buying in the last hour enabled the Dow soar to 842.56, the biggest daily advance since March 25, when it rose 19.09 points. Advancers Top Decliners Analysts attributed most of the late upswing yesterday to bargain hunting by investors and traders. Since late April, the Dow has tumbled about 200 points, and on Friday the blue-chip indicator dropped 11.13 points, to 824.01, its lowest close since May 15, 1980.

Changes in the way lower-court judges are chosen to work temporarily in State Supreme Court have raised the hopes of some judges, caused concern among others and provided a rare look at the infighting for promotion that occurs on the bench. Hopes were raised for judges who had felt they might be passed over for appointment to State Supreme Court because they did not have friends in high places. But some Supreme Court justices already elected were concerned because they feared their ranks might become more plebeian. The changes were announced on Sept. 21 by Chief Judge Lawrence H. Cooke of the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals. The reactions attending his announcement throw light on how judges jockey for recognition and speculate about who has the backing of whom in their quests for higher office.

Reagan holds off on second nomi- nation for rights post 3 Iraq denies that Iran scored a vic- tory in war 3 Around the World 4 West German state elections go against Schmidt's party 4 U.S. urges Japan to increase arms spending 6 Soviet Jewish dissident in Khar- kov is arrested 7 Government/Politics Debate on voting rights act begins in House 9 Joggers in TV commercial sell Republican Party 12 "Students" enjoy Democratic training school 12 More emphasis on private pen- sions urged in report 12 At Congressional Black Caucus, a sense of opportunity 15 Washington Talk Briefing 10 Two Senators are struggling over control of foreign assistance 10 Quiet revolt goes on among Jus- tice Department lawyers 10 General Around the Nation 8 New air traffic controller trainees at crucial time 8 Thousands of working mothers in Jersey face loss of welfare 11 Around New York 15 Science Times Mystery of Damascus steel ap- pears to be solved 17 New chief of Federal science agency pushes for change 17 Education: Change in the offing for law school admission test 17 Science Watch 18 Science Q&A 18 Russians plan dramatic expan- sion of effort in earth drilling 19 Science Times Mystery of Damascus steel ap- pears to be solved C1 New chief of Federal science agency pushes for change C1 Education: Change in the offing for law school admission test C1 Science Watch C2 Science Q&A C2 Russians plan dramatic expan- sion of effort in earth drilling C3 About Education: Foundation urges drastic change C4 General Around the Nation A12 Hinckley plea to be not quilty by reason of insanity A13 Thousands of working mothers in Jersey face loss of welfare B2 In a troubled Brooklyn school, calm is replacing chaos B3 Religion Austrian cardinal urges coopera- tion of church and science B2 Industry/Labor New air traffic controller trainees at crucial time A12 Arts/Entertainment Two films explore urban neglect and Ku Klux Klan C6 "One World Percussion" at World Trade Cente r plaza C6 "Everybody's Gettin' Into the Act," at Actors' Playouse C7 "60 Minutes" examines itself C7 Ohioan wins $75,000 American Music Competition C7 Szabo's "Mephisto" at New York Film Festival C8 "Practicing History," essays by Barbara W. Tuchman C9 Stream Dance gives a concert at La Mama Annex C10 "Sophisticated Gents," middle- class black people, on NBC C10 PBS's "Odyssey" looks at "The Ancient Mariners" C10 Bella Davidovich, pianist C10 Style Notes on Fashion A24 Daytime uniform: The suit A24 Gifts for the second time around A24 Sports Brewers win, take first place in American League East D23 Cardinals win, 6-2, trail Expos by a half-game D23 Yankees lose to Indians, 6-2 D23 Dodgers' Smith suspended for five days for fight with fan D23 Chicago has a winner in the Sting D23 Phillies defeat Mets by 12-4 D24 Dave Anderson on Nolan Ryan's no-hit symphony D24 Nets waiting to hear from McAdoo and Barnes D24 Group formed to protect rights of student athletes D25 Ainge to quit baseball regardless of trial outcome D25 Giants face game against Pack- ers with optimism C26 Rams defeat Bears by 24-7 D26 Jets, 6-0 against Dolphins, look forward to their game D27 Features/Notes Notes on People B4 Going Out Guide C9 Sports People D25 News Analysis Leonard Silk discusses worries on world economy A1 E. R. Shipp examines temporary State Supreme Court duty B1 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials A26 Two faces of Awacs What's fair on the modern air One-man trucks, more or less Letters A26 Sydney H. Schanberg: the new math explained A27 Tom Wicker: the riddle of deter- rence A27 Clemard Josep h Charles: aiding fleeing Hai tians A27 Alix Kates Shulman: the bag ladies A27

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's foreign trade deficit ballooned to $5.6 billion in August, the biggest total in 18 months, as a strengthening dollar encouraged Americans to buy more from overseas, the Government reported yesterday. In a statement released by the department, Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige said the strong dollar also restrained exports somewhat in August. Over all, imports rose to $24.7 billion, while exports fell 1.1 percent, to $19.1 billion, the department's monthly report said. ''Although the dollar has eased some recently, adverse trade effects will continue well into 1982.'' Mr. Baldrige said . On the bright side, less expensive imports helped to dampen inflation in the United States, he added.

George A. Dalley stood beneath the bright yellow and white circus tent covering the backyard of Representative Charles B. Rangel's home here and observed the black New Yorkers mingling around him. ''This is the kind of group you wouldn't get together ordinarily in New York,'' said Mr. Dalley, Mr. Rangel's former administrative assistant and now a member of the Civil Aeron autics Board. As he spoke, import-export entrepreneurs, state gov ernment officials, politicians, community activists and people f rom a diversity of otheroccupations and interests munched fried chick en and beans, greeted acquaintances from their pasts and made new o nes. ''The Congressional Black Caucus weekend,'' Mr. Dalley continued, ''is a commonality that they all share.'' Scores of New Yorkers converged on Washington for the caucus's 11th annual legislative weekend, which is considered a forum for blacks to map political and legislative strategy. One New Yorker who reflected on the weekend yesterday found this commonality not only among blacks from his city but also among those who came from other cities.

International The sale of Awacs planes to Saudi Arabia was pressed by Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger. In Senate testimony, he contended that the transfer would contribute significantly to the security of all nations in the Middle East, including Israel. Meanwhile, Richard W. Murphy, the newly confirmed ambassador to Saudi Arabia, flew there to begin discussions on the sale. (Page A1, Column 1.) Saudi oil prices will remain moderate whether or not Congress rejects the sale of Awacs plans, according to Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabia's oil minister. He predicted that the prices would not outpace inflation through 1986. (A1:2.)

Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. and Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko met for five hours today for what were described as ''frank, businesslike and serious'' discussions on the major issues between the United States and the Soviet Union. Dean Fischer, the State Department spokesman, said tonight that as a result of nine hours of talks - five today and four last Wednesday - Mr. Haig and Mr. Gromyko had agreed to continue their conversations early next year, possibly in Geneva. The two sides agreed to say little publicly about the details of the talks, Mr. Fischer said. He added, however, that ''you can assume the full range of international and bilateral issues were touched upon.''

In a day of frantic trading, world stock markets were swept with a wave of near-panic selling yesterday until the falling prices were finally checked with a strong rally on the New York Stock Exchange. The sharp decline, which swept through Japanese and European markets, seemed to fulfill the prediction that had been made last Friday by Joseph Granville, an American analyst whose forecasts of price movements have sometimes had a dramatic effect on stock markets in the past. Mr. Granville had said that stock prices would plunge yesterday. Quite aside from his prediction, analysts and stock traders attributed the steep worldwide decline to an unusual degree of uncertainty among investors about the world economic outlook, especially the problems of high interest rates and budget deficits in the United States and the fear of recession. ''People's nerves are getting thinner and thinner,'' said Morton Kveim, director of European securities sales for E.F. Hutton & Company. ''I've been in this business 20 years and I've never seen such bearishness,'' he added in a telephone interview from Geneva.

Lawyers for New York State and two public-interest groups told a Federal judge yesterday that they had agreed on a settlement in the long-pending case on the care of mentally retarded patients at Willowbrook on Staten Island. But the draft settlement was immediately criticized by a lawyer whose 13-year-old daughter has been one of the patient-plaintiffs in the case. The lawyer, Murray B. Schneps, asked Judge John R. Bartels in Federal District Court in Brooklyn to dismiss the attorneys for the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Legal Aid Society, which have rep resented the plaintiffs at their own expen se since 1972.

TWO metallurgists at Stanford University, seeking to produce a ''superplastic'' metal, appear to have stumbled on the secret of Damascus steel, the legendary material used by numerous warriors of the past, including the Crusaders. Its formula had been lost for generations. Analyses of steel by Jeffrey Wadsworth and Oleg D. Sherby, in their search for a highly plastic form, revealed properties almost identical to those they then found in Damascus steel, though their own plastic steel had been produced through contemporary methods. The remarkable characteristics of Damascus steel became known to Europe when the Crusaders reached the Middle East, beginning in the 11th century. They discovered that swords of this metal could split a feather in midair, yet retain their edge through many a battle with the Saracens. The swords were easily recognized by a characteristic watery or ''damask'' pattern on their blades.