- Email: [email protected]
Chill out
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I would suggest that she is wrong about what science is and how it works. There is no reason why scientific explanations should be limited to exclusively material causes; science is about methodological realism. Hypotheses must necessarily be based on, or be testable by reference to, empirical, publicly accessible physical data. This does not preclude non-material explanations of the data if they can be objectively assessed and thoroughly tested. Metaphysical materialism is neither logical, nor based on any scientific methods, nor even rational, so it seems strange that it should be judged regulative for science. Limiting science to atheistic explanations is indeed anti-scientific, since it predetermines its outcomes before doing the science itself. Woolwell, Devon, UK
Chill out From Tom Gavranic Emma Young’s article on the link between sleep and mental illness (21 February, p 34) prompted me to write of my experiences as a doctor in an addictions facility. H. F. Molloy reported in 1993 that overheating the body during sleep can result not only in severe skin disease but also in disturbed sleep (International Journal of Dermatology, vol 32, p 668). Using his “cold turkey” approach to treating nocturnal overheating, I have noticed that mental health problems such as depression, nightmares and unrefreshing sleep improve markedly in most instances. From my observations, I suspect overheating may also play a role in sleepwalking and schizophrenia. I venture to hypothesise also that children overheating at night, and also during the day due to heavy school uniforms and enclosed
shoes, may contribute to symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Religion on the brain
From Meg Henderson Andy Coghlan’s report on whether praying to God causes the same brain activity as talking to friends (11 April, p 9) made me wonder which areas become active when a person claims God is communicating with them. Would there be activity in the usual auditory areas? And are the communications connected to creative or other centres? The findings by Uffe Schjødt, reported in Coghlan’s article, demonstrate another example of neural plasticity, used by various groups of people to achieve control over others who are unaware of the process. Supernatural and exaggerated beliefs have been almost universal in achieving the cohesion needed in groups. More research from Schjødt, please. Lower Templestowe, Victoria, Australia
E-ciggies and health From Douglas Bettcher, Tobacco Free Initiative, World Health Organization Further to Helen Thomson’s article on the effects of smoking an electronic cigarette (14 February, p 33), it must be
emphasised that the World Health Organization is not certain that research funded by manufacturers of these products is independent or legitimate. This is particularly true in the absence of sufficient information to evaluate the reliability or validity of the research, without publication in its complete form or thorough assessment by an appropriate regulatory authority. Electronic nicotine delivery devices such as the electronic cigarette may have the potential to be effective for smoking cessation. However, criteria for safety and efficacy have not been satisfied, and scientific evidence sufficient to establish cessation efficacy is not yet available. Geneva, Switzerland
Morbid research From James Wright In his letter, Tom Verberne quotes Ilkka Henrik Mäkinen on suicidology: “Neither the individual-level causes nor the general-level correlates of suicide have been clarified to a
contemplating it as a line of study may fear that it will make them seem morbid. Finally, the idea of neurobiological predispositions to suicide seems fatalistic, going against our intuitive sense of spiritual selfhood. Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, UK
Vitamin warning From Alison Knight Feedback commented on the incongruous warning aimed at pregnant or lactating women on a men’s multivitamin supplement (4 April). The explanation is simple: the tablets contain vitamin A. By UK law, all supplements containing vitamin A must carry a warning to women who are either pregnant or breastfeeding. This is because vitamin A in excess can cause devastating problems for the developing fetus, including blindness, hydrocephalus and spina bifida. Breastfeeding women are included in the warning due to the risk of overdose for the baby. For this reason, you will find the same warning on children’s products containing vitamin A. Chellaston, Derby, UK
For the record
satisfactory extent” (11 April, p 23). There is actually a lot of information available on the subject, accessibly brought together in The Neurobiology of Suicide: From the bench to the clinic (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol 836). The real problem is that this is a depressing field of research and, as such, it attracts fewer researchers. Suicide is a taboo topic for the layperson and people
■ The arxiv URL in our article on internet surveillance should have been www.arxiv.org/abs/0903.3218 (4 April, p 17). ■ The figure of 3400 road fatalities per month in the US is for overall road accident deaths, not just pedestrian deaths (18 April, p 18). 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.
2 May 2009 | NewScientist | 25
I would suggest that she is wrong about what science is and how it works. There is no reason why scientific explanations should be limited to exclusively material causes; science is about methodological realism. Hypotheses must necessarily be based on, or be testable by reference to, empirical, publicly accessible physical data. This does not preclude non-material explanations of the data if they can be objectively assessed and thoroughly tested. Metaphysical materialism is neither logical, nor based on any scientific methods, nor even rational, so it seems strange that it should be judged regulative for science. Limiting science to atheistic explanations is indeed anti-scientific, since it predetermines its outcomes before doing the science itself. Woolwell, Devon, UK
Chill out From Tom Gavranic Emma Young’s article on the link between sleep and mental illness (21 February, p 34) prompted me to write of my experiences as a doctor in an addictions facility. H. F. Molloy reported in 1993 that overheating the body during sleep can result not only in severe skin disease but also in disturbed sleep (International Journal of Dermatology, vol 32, p 668). Using his “cold turkey” approach to treating nocturnal overheating, I have noticed that mental health problems such as depression, nightmares and unrefreshing sleep improve markedly in most instances. From my observations, I suspect overheating may also play a role in sleepwalking and schizophrenia. I venture to hypothesise also that children overheating at night, and also during the day due to heavy school uniforms and enclosed
shoes, may contribute to symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Religion on the brain
From Meg Henderson Andy Coghlan’s report on whether praying to God causes the same brain activity as talking to friends (11 April, p 9) made me wonder which areas become active when a person claims God is communicating with them. Would there be activity in the usual auditory areas? And are the communications connected to creative or other centres? The findings by Uffe Schjødt, reported in Coghlan’s article, demonstrate another example of neural plasticity, used by various groups of people to achieve control over others who are unaware of the process. Supernatural and exaggerated beliefs have been almost universal in achieving the cohesion needed in groups. More research from Schjødt, please. Lower Templestowe, Victoria, Australia
E-ciggies and health From Douglas Bettcher, Tobacco Free Initiative, World Health Organization Further to Helen Thomson’s article on the effects of smoking an electronic cigarette (14 February, p 33), it must be
emphasised that the World Health Organization is not certain that research funded by manufacturers of these products is independent or legitimate. This is particularly true in the absence of sufficient information to evaluate the reliability or validity of the research, without publication in its complete form or thorough assessment by an appropriate regulatory authority. Electronic nicotine delivery devices such as the electronic cigarette may have the potential to be effective for smoking cessation. However, criteria for safety and efficacy have not been satisfied, and scientific evidence sufficient to establish cessation efficacy is not yet available. Geneva, Switzerland
Morbid research From James Wright In his letter, Tom Verberne quotes Ilkka Henrik Mäkinen on suicidology: “Neither the individual-level causes nor the general-level correlates of suicide have been clarified to a
contemplating it as a line of study may fear that it will make them seem morbid. Finally, the idea of neurobiological predispositions to suicide seems fatalistic, going against our intuitive sense of spiritual selfhood. Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, UK
Vitamin warning From Alison Knight Feedback commented on the incongruous warning aimed at pregnant or lactating women on a men’s multivitamin supplement (4 April). The explanation is simple: the tablets contain vitamin A. By UK law, all supplements containing vitamin A must carry a warning to women who are either pregnant or breastfeeding. This is because vitamin A in excess can cause devastating problems for the developing fetus, including blindness, hydrocephalus and spina bifida. Breastfeeding women are included in the warning due to the risk of overdose for the baby. For this reason, you will find the same warning on children’s products containing vitamin A. Chellaston, Derby, UK
For the record
satisfactory extent” (11 April, p 23). There is actually a lot of information available on the subject, accessibly brought together in The Neurobiology of Suicide: From the bench to the clinic (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol 836). The real problem is that this is a depressing field of research and, as such, it attracts fewer researchers. Suicide is a taboo topic for the layperson and people
■ The arxiv URL in our article on internet surveillance should have been www.arxiv.org/abs/0903.3218 (4 April, p 17). ■ The figure of 3400 road fatalities per month in the US is for overall road accident deaths, not just pedestrian deaths (18 April, p 18). 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.
2 May 2009 | NewScientist | 25