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First words
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vouch that the working faces are much more comfortable than London’s Central line. Harpenden, Hertfordshire, UK
Einstein’s roots From Carrie Osborne There is another answer to Debora MacKenzie’s question to Naledi Pandor: “Will the next Einstein come from Africa?” (16 July, p 25). If we could look at the genealogy of Einstein’s Y-chromosome, we would find that the first one did. Monkey Bay, Malawi
Better together From K. T. van Santen I’m not sure to which Old Testament Bill Hyde’s letter refers (27 August, p 31) , but it’s not the one with which I and millions of Christian, Jewish and Muslim believers are familiar. The science-versus-religion conflict is a false dichotomy, maintained and reinforced by typecasting new atheists as genius liberators and theists as mindless simpletons. Instead of deepening such divisions, scientists should work to bring religious groups onside and use their influence to direct funding and implement policy changes worldwide. Plymouth, Devon, UK
Life imitates art From Vijay Kumar How many readers of your review of Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 astronaut’s journey to the moon (30 July, p 48) noticed the uncanny resemblance of Al Worden’s story to Robert Heinlein’s 1950 sci-fi novella The Man Who Sold the Moon, in which the main character plans to sell stamps postmarked on the lunar surface? Chandigarh, India
First words
Cetacean contagion
From Peter Weinrich One thing missing from your article on the evolution of language (16 July, p 30) is the story of Psammetichus I, king of Egypt (664-610 BC). He is best known for his attempt to resolve an argument about the antiquity of language, an account recorded by the Greek historian Herodotus. Psammetichus ordered two young children be confined and never exposed to speech. Some time later the shepherd charged with watching over them reported that whenever he went into their room they kept repeating the word “beccos”. Inquiries were made, and it was found that beccos meant bread in Phoenician. It was therefore concluded that Phoenician is the oldest language, and beccos the first word. Bread is certainly not a bad beginning in any language. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
From Simon Birnstingl You reported on efforts to communicate with dolphins by deciphering their clicks and whistles (7 May, p 23). I wonder if the researchers have thought about the possible consequences. Humans are very susceptible to memes – cultural ideas or behaviour which can take hold and spread, such as the
Repetitive diet From Alison Tottenham You report that the first attempts at farming would have resulted in a lack of diversity in diet and disadvantages compared with foraging (30 July, p 26). I would suggest a second period of restriction in food diversity coinciding with the growth of communities. In early societies, once a certain population density was reached not all citizens had either the essential knowledge or the access to gardens to enable them to grow ancillary crops. This probably continued until the 20th century, even in the UK. The addition of herbs and a wide range of vegetables to the diet was uncommon before the second world war. Today this can still be seen as one of the problems associated with desperate populations in shanty towns and emergency tented cities. Honiton, Devon, UK
finger, but a single pain. Maybe it makes no sense to talk about the subjective experience of a different life form. Perhaps there is nothing like being a bee; perhaps it has no consciousness and lives “in the dark”. Surely this also holds for the other creatures that were discussed: turtles, bats, dogs and snakes. Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK
Heavy water
concept of private property. Could human memes affect other big-brained mammals? What will we do when the dolphins demand negotiations take place over who pays whom for all the fish? Upper Beeding, West Sussex, UK
Bee or not to bee? From Iain Petrie Your recent cover line “Inside Animal Minds: How other creatures see our world” (20 August) would have been better put as “Inside Animals’ Brains: Some speculation as to what it might or might not be like to be another creature”. The writer of the article suggests a bee sees through the “pixellated window of mosaic vision”. We cannot make the leap from a creature’s sensory equipment to knowing what that creature experiences subjectively. I have two eyes but see only one image because I have a unified sense of consciousness. I just picked up a cup of coffee which was far too hot. I didn’t feel five separate pains, one for each
From Sami Franssila David Hambling describes the first human-made fusion, “above the Pacific atoll of Enewetak” (13 August, p 36). The device detonated on Eniwetok (as it was then called) was firmly on the ground. It weighed 60 to 70 tonnes, according to various sources. This was because it used liquid deuterium, and the cryogenics required added considerable weight and complexity. It was not weaponisable and could not be made airborne. The Soviet hydrogen bomb of 1953 was a dry bomb with lithium, a design that could be weaponised and made airborne. Helsinki, Finland
For the record n The graphic in the deep ocean exploration feature (3 September, p 38) should have stated the Virgin Oceanic submersible is built to withstand the pressure of 1100 atmospheres at the bottom of the Mariana trench. 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.
17 September 2011 | NewScientist | 33
vouch that the working faces are much more comfortable than London’s Central line. Harpenden, Hertfordshire, UK
Einstein’s roots From Carrie Osborne There is another answer to Debora MacKenzie’s question to Naledi Pandor: “Will the next Einstein come from Africa?” (16 July, p 25). If we could look at the genealogy of Einstein’s Y-chromosome, we would find that the first one did. Monkey Bay, Malawi
Better together From K. T. van Santen I’m not sure to which Old Testament Bill Hyde’s letter refers (27 August, p 31) , but it’s not the one with which I and millions of Christian, Jewish and Muslim believers are familiar. The science-versus-religion conflict is a false dichotomy, maintained and reinforced by typecasting new atheists as genius liberators and theists as mindless simpletons. Instead of deepening such divisions, scientists should work to bring religious groups onside and use their influence to direct funding and implement policy changes worldwide. Plymouth, Devon, UK
Life imitates art From Vijay Kumar How many readers of your review of Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 astronaut’s journey to the moon (30 July, p 48) noticed the uncanny resemblance of Al Worden’s story to Robert Heinlein’s 1950 sci-fi novella The Man Who Sold the Moon, in which the main character plans to sell stamps postmarked on the lunar surface? Chandigarh, India
First words
Cetacean contagion
From Peter Weinrich One thing missing from your article on the evolution of language (16 July, p 30) is the story of Psammetichus I, king of Egypt (664-610 BC). He is best known for his attempt to resolve an argument about the antiquity of language, an account recorded by the Greek historian Herodotus. Psammetichus ordered two young children be confined and never exposed to speech. Some time later the shepherd charged with watching over them reported that whenever he went into their room they kept repeating the word “beccos”. Inquiries were made, and it was found that beccos meant bread in Phoenician. It was therefore concluded that Phoenician is the oldest language, and beccos the first word. Bread is certainly not a bad beginning in any language. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
From Simon Birnstingl You reported on efforts to communicate with dolphins by deciphering their clicks and whistles (7 May, p 23). I wonder if the researchers have thought about the possible consequences. Humans are very susceptible to memes – cultural ideas or behaviour which can take hold and spread, such as the
Repetitive diet From Alison Tottenham You report that the first attempts at farming would have resulted in a lack of diversity in diet and disadvantages compared with foraging (30 July, p 26). I would suggest a second period of restriction in food diversity coinciding with the growth of communities. In early societies, once a certain population density was reached not all citizens had either the essential knowledge or the access to gardens to enable them to grow ancillary crops. This probably continued until the 20th century, even in the UK. The addition of herbs and a wide range of vegetables to the diet was uncommon before the second world war. Today this can still be seen as one of the problems associated with desperate populations in shanty towns and emergency tented cities. Honiton, Devon, UK
finger, but a single pain. Maybe it makes no sense to talk about the subjective experience of a different life form. Perhaps there is nothing like being a bee; perhaps it has no consciousness and lives “in the dark”. Surely this also holds for the other creatures that were discussed: turtles, bats, dogs and snakes. Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK
Heavy water
concept of private property. Could human memes affect other big-brained mammals? What will we do when the dolphins demand negotiations take place over who pays whom for all the fish? Upper Beeding, West Sussex, UK
Bee or not to bee? From Iain Petrie Your recent cover line “Inside Animal Minds: How other creatures see our world” (20 August) would have been better put as “Inside Animals’ Brains: Some speculation as to what it might or might not be like to be another creature”. The writer of the article suggests a bee sees through the “pixellated window of mosaic vision”. We cannot make the leap from a creature’s sensory equipment to knowing what that creature experiences subjectively. I have two eyes but see only one image because I have a unified sense of consciousness. I just picked up a cup of coffee which was far too hot. I didn’t feel five separate pains, one for each
From Sami Franssila David Hambling describes the first human-made fusion, “above the Pacific atoll of Enewetak” (13 August, p 36). The device detonated on Eniwetok (as it was then called) was firmly on the ground. It weighed 60 to 70 tonnes, according to various sources. This was because it used liquid deuterium, and the cryogenics required added considerable weight and complexity. It was not weaponisable and could not be made airborne. The Soviet hydrogen bomb of 1953 was a dry bomb with lithium, a design that could be weaponised and made airborne. Helsinki, Finland
For the record n The graphic in the deep ocean exploration feature (3 September, p 38) should have stated the Virgin Oceanic submersible is built to withstand the pressure of 1100 atmospheres at the bottom of the Mariana trench. 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.
17 September 2011 | NewScientist | 33