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by some, probably incorrectly, as having no lasting physical effects. I wonder how long it will be before portable “pain rays” enter the interrogation room. West Malling, Kent, UK From Alain Williams The pain ray’s millimetrewavelength microwaves are stopped by the water in 0.4 millimetres of skin, but they can penetrate clothing. However, wet clothing might act like skin, and so an easy defence could be to soak your clothes. High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK
Pet detectives From Steve Dalton Feedback highlighted that a gated housing development in Texas was taking swabs from residents’ dogs so that any faeces left on sidewalks could be traced back to their pets (13 April). Perhaps we should applaud them for realising that a simple pack of swabs makes a cheap deterrent for those who don’t clear up after their dog, given the fear of naming and shaming, with no actual DNA analysis required. Chipstead, Kent, UK
So much hot air From Frank Fahy, emeritus professor of engineering acoustics, University of Southampton Benjamin Clayton ponders the idea of recovering useful energy
from waste sound (4 May, p 34). So he will be disappointed to learn that the energy generated by the noise from a crowd of about 80,000 people at an international football match at Wembley stadium in London is sufficient to cook only a couple of eggs. King’s Somborne, Hampshire, UK
Bee careful From Nigel Raine, bee researcher, Royal Holloway, University of London The weight of peer-reviewed scientific evidence does indeed suggest that field-relevant exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides can have adverse effects on bees (4 May, p 6). But whether the EU moratorium on the use of these chemicals will benefit bees depends on what alternative pest control is used. Bees are exposed to multiple pesticides when foraging, so the risk assessment for pesticides should take account of this, as well as potential sub-lethal behavioural effects and longerterm impacts. Each year, insects provide essential pollination worth at least £440 million to UK agriculture. Pesticides are a crucial tool for achieving high levels of crop production. Both have clear benefits. We need to ensure that pesticides are used in ways that minimise harm to pollinating insects. Egham, Surrey, UK
Reality check From Philip Duffy I must question David Hobday’s explanation of the illusion of self (27 April, p 35), with his example of Alice, who “knows enough to live a healthy, happy life, and expects to die and be reduced to ash. She has no beliefs.” Alice may think that she exists without beliefs, but this is in itself
a symptom of cognitive bias. She has simply elevated her beliefs to the point where she sees them as facts. For example, Alice believes that the world she perceives via her senses is real. Ashford, Kent, UK
All art From Tony Chabot
In response to Nick Craddock’s article hoping that psychiatry gets its Higgs boson moment (27 April, p 30), Jeremy Holmes suggested that the discipline “is inherently a marriage of art and science” (11 May, p 31). I half agree: it is art. Kings Norton, West Midlands, UK
Strange thoughts From Trevor Jones Douglas Hofstadter and Emmanuel Sander speculate on the pervading nature of analogy in our thought processes, “from throwaway remarks to deep scientific and artistic insights” (4 May, p 30). I’d point them to a statement sometimes attributed to the German artist Paul Klee: “Art is making the strange familiar and the familiar strange”. In their emphasis on the importance of analogical thinking in making the strange familiar, of bringing order out of chaos, Hofstadter and Sander underplay its importance in making the familiar strange – which is an important part of discovering,
inventing and finding new and surprising solutions. Cheveley, Cambridgeshire, UK
400 and rising From Iain Climie The news that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have reached 400 parts per million is depressing, but no surprise (18 May, p 5). There has been precious little serious effort to address the problem. Even if net greenhouse gas emissions from human activity somehow became neutral – through carbon capture and storage, say – the genie may still be out of the bottle with regard to climate change. There is a time lag of decades between changes in gas levels and temperature changes. Whitchurch, Hampshire, UK
For the record n Ei! The look at a common origin for seven families of Eurasian languages (11 May, p 10) included a map showing Estonia in the Indo-European family. In fact it is part of the Uralic family. n In our review of Frank Zelko’s book on the rise of Greenpeace (27 April, p 50), Fred Pearce said the group “began in the US”. In fact, Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver, Canada. n A bleak future was reported for the painted turtle amid rising temperatures (11 May, p 16). Researcher Rory Telemeco has asked us to clarify that the model used in his research predicted the extinction of one local population on the Mississippi river, rather than the species as a whole. Letters should be sent to: Letters to the Editor, New Scientist, 84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8NS Fax: +44 (0) 20 7611 1280 Email: [email protected] Include your full postal address and telephone number, and a reference (issue, page number, title) to articles. We reserve the right to edit letters. Reed Business Information reserves the right to use any submissions sent to the letters column of New Scientist magazine, in any other format.
25 May 2013 | NewScientist | 31
by some, probably incorrectly, as having no lasting physical effects. I wonder how long it will be before portable “pain rays” enter the interrogation room. West Malling, Kent, UK From Alain Williams The pain ray’s millimetrewavelength microwaves are stopped by the water in 0.4 millimetres of skin, but they can penetrate clothing. However, wet clothing might act like skin, and so an easy defence could be to soak your clothes. High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK
Pet detectives From Steve Dalton Feedback highlighted that a gated housing development in Texas was taking swabs from residents’ dogs so that any faeces left on sidewalks could be traced back to their pets (13 April). Perhaps we should applaud them for realising that a simple pack of swabs makes a cheap deterrent for those who don’t clear up after their dog, given the fear of naming and shaming, with no actual DNA analysis required. Chipstead, Kent, UK
So much hot air From Frank Fahy, emeritus professor of engineering acoustics, University of Southampton Benjamin Clayton ponders the idea of recovering useful energy
from waste sound (4 May, p 34). So he will be disappointed to learn that the energy generated by the noise from a crowd of about 80,000 people at an international football match at Wembley stadium in London is sufficient to cook only a couple of eggs. King’s Somborne, Hampshire, UK
Bee careful From Nigel Raine, bee researcher, Royal Holloway, University of London The weight of peer-reviewed scientific evidence does indeed suggest that field-relevant exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides can have adverse effects on bees (4 May, p 6). But whether the EU moratorium on the use of these chemicals will benefit bees depends on what alternative pest control is used. Bees are exposed to multiple pesticides when foraging, so the risk assessment for pesticides should take account of this, as well as potential sub-lethal behavioural effects and longerterm impacts. Each year, insects provide essential pollination worth at least £440 million to UK agriculture. Pesticides are a crucial tool for achieving high levels of crop production. Both have clear benefits. We need to ensure that pesticides are used in ways that minimise harm to pollinating insects. Egham, Surrey, UK
Reality check From Philip Duffy I must question David Hobday’s explanation of the illusion of self (27 April, p 35), with his example of Alice, who “knows enough to live a healthy, happy life, and expects to die and be reduced to ash. She has no beliefs.” Alice may think that she exists without beliefs, but this is in itself
a symptom of cognitive bias. She has simply elevated her beliefs to the point where she sees them as facts. For example, Alice believes that the world she perceives via her senses is real. Ashford, Kent, UK
All art From Tony Chabot
In response to Nick Craddock’s article hoping that psychiatry gets its Higgs boson moment (27 April, p 30), Jeremy Holmes suggested that the discipline “is inherently a marriage of art and science” (11 May, p 31). I half agree: it is art. Kings Norton, West Midlands, UK
Strange thoughts From Trevor Jones Douglas Hofstadter and Emmanuel Sander speculate on the pervading nature of analogy in our thought processes, “from throwaway remarks to deep scientific and artistic insights” (4 May, p 30). I’d point them to a statement sometimes attributed to the German artist Paul Klee: “Art is making the strange familiar and the familiar strange”. In their emphasis on the importance of analogical thinking in making the strange familiar, of bringing order out of chaos, Hofstadter and Sander underplay its importance in making the familiar strange – which is an important part of discovering,
inventing and finding new and surprising solutions. Cheveley, Cambridgeshire, UK
400 and rising From Iain Climie The news that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have reached 400 parts per million is depressing, but no surprise (18 May, p 5). There has been precious little serious effort to address the problem. Even if net greenhouse gas emissions from human activity somehow became neutral – through carbon capture and storage, say – the genie may still be out of the bottle with regard to climate change. There is a time lag of decades between changes in gas levels and temperature changes. Whitchurch, Hampshire, UK
For the record n Ei! The look at a common origin for seven families of Eurasian languages (11 May, p 10) included a map showing Estonia in the Indo-European family. In fact it is part of the Uralic family. n In our review of Frank Zelko’s book on the rise of Greenpeace (27 April, p 50), Fred Pearce said the group “began in the US”. In fact, Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver, Canada. n A bleak future was reported for the painted turtle amid rising temperatures (11 May, p 16). Researcher Rory Telemeco has asked us to clarify that the model used in his research predicted the extinction of one local population on the Mississippi river, rather than the species as a whole. Letters should be sent to: Letters to the Editor, New Scientist, 84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8NS Fax: +44 (0) 20 7611 1280 Email: [email protected] Include your full postal address and telephone number, and a reference (issue, page number, title) to articles. We reserve the right to edit letters. Reed Business Information reserves the right to use any submissions sent to the letters column of New Scientist magazine, in any other format.
25 May 2013 | NewScientist | 31