- Email: [email protected]
Flat Earth
For more letters and to join the debate, visit www.NewScientist.com/letters
circuses by the University of Bristol, UK (23 May, p 5). The British government is still stalling over a pledge made three years ago to stop wild animals appearing in circuses. This timely study shows why it must follow through on its commitment. It shouldn’t really take a scientist to make it obvious that a travelling circus, by its very nature, cannot meet the needs of animals. The inconstant conditions, brought about by weekly relocation, mean that animals often don’t have access to exercise or grazing and are confined to cages or small stalls. A few minutes in the ring will not provide sufficient enrichment, particularly if training is carried out with force or cruelty. UK circuses still use elephants, tigers, lions and even a red fox. A ban can’t come soon enough for these animals. The same ethical objections apply to domesticated animals used for entertainment; they endure the same welfare and confinement problems as the non-domesticated species. The Captive Animals’ Protection Society, working with other charities, is lobbying hard for the government to bring animal use in circuses to an end. In the meantime, we encourage people to visit only those shows that rely entirely on the skills of human performers. Manchester, UK
Flat Earth From Mark Brandon In discussing whether the universe is flat, Eugenie Samuel Reich compares this premise to the myth that once upon a time, we believed the Earth was flat (16 May, p 15). However, if the BBC’s QI programme is correct, and its entire stall is set out on reporting the truth, there is no evidence whatever that people ever believed the world was flat. Chaucer didn’t, and Columbus
believed it was pear-shaped. It quotes “leading Medievalist” Terry Jones as pouring cold water on the theory, and where Jones goes, I tend to follow. So, the gauntlet is down: can you cite any evidence that our forebears believed in a flat Earth? London, UK The editor writes: ■ Terry Jones specifically addresses what was known in the Middle Ages. Many ancient cultures, such as that of ancient China, did indeed think the Earth was flat.
The two vectors From David Gilbert C. P. Snow correctly identified the self-segregation of our intellectuals into two mutually isolated cultures (2 May, p 26), but he did not understand the reason behind their mutual contempt, which is their “vector disparity”. Any thought process can be classified into one of two modes, either analytical/investigative or creative/constructive. Both cultures include examples of both modes of thought, but they differ in the vector relationships between them. In science, we have analytical activities such as chemistry and physics, and constructive activities such as engineering and medicine. The creation of a building depends on the underlying physics, and achieving a medical cure depends on the underlying biology.
In the humanities we also have analytical activities, such as history and musicology, and creative activities such as composition, performance, statesmanship and military command. But here the vector operates in the opposite direction. For example, the historian is dependent on the actions of politicians and generals. Unconsciously, each culture has developed a yardstick for its own activities and then applied it inappropriately to the other. In science the yardstick says that analysis is primary (creative, good) and construction is secondary (derivative, less good). In the humanities, on the other hand, construction is primary (imaginative, good) while analysis is secondary (pedantic, less good). It is the inappropriate use of these yardsticks that has caused Snow’s “two cultures” to drift into mutual incomprehension. A physicist, for example, may think of a sculptor as a “mere manufacturer” while the sculptor may think of the physicist as a “mere dismantler”. Perhaps if our educators were to teach this disparity in vector relationships, the two cultures might learn to get along with each other a little better. Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, UK
Ballast buoyancy From David Hobday I think Feedback and Paul Spicker took a poorly aimed shot at the advertisement for “5 star Luxury European River Cruises” when remarking on its assertion that the cabin windows don’t sink below water level “even when passing under low bridges” (30 May). Our vintage paddle steamers on the Murray river often need to adjust their ballast water to ensure safe clearance under the lowest bridges. I suspect that the cruisers in the ad also have such a facility. The fuel saved by keeping
the vessel as light as possible outweighs the cost of increasing the draught occasionally. Bateau Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Black Sea life From Pamela Kemp In his review of Alanna Mitchell’s Seasick, Fred Pearce states that the Black Sea “has been lifeless for thousands of years” (9 May, p 45). This is not true: the upper levels of the Black Sea have lots of aquatic life. It is only the lower level which is anoxic. Mauzac et Grand Castang, France
For the record ■ In our story on premature babies’ posture and IQ, we should have said that researchers filmed the babies 11 to 16 weeks after their expected birth date, had they reached full term, rather than after their actual birth date (13 June, p 12). ■ The correct link to the work by Mark Bulmer of Towson University, Maryland, on using glucose to combat termite troubles is DOI: 10.1073/ pnas.0904063106 (13 June, p 14) 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.
27 June 2009 | NewScientist | 27
circuses by the University of Bristol, UK (23 May, p 5). The British government is still stalling over a pledge made three years ago to stop wild animals appearing in circuses. This timely study shows why it must follow through on its commitment. It shouldn’t really take a scientist to make it obvious that a travelling circus, by its very nature, cannot meet the needs of animals. The inconstant conditions, brought about by weekly relocation, mean that animals often don’t have access to exercise or grazing and are confined to cages or small stalls. A few minutes in the ring will not provide sufficient enrichment, particularly if training is carried out with force or cruelty. UK circuses still use elephants, tigers, lions and even a red fox. A ban can’t come soon enough for these animals. The same ethical objections apply to domesticated animals used for entertainment; they endure the same welfare and confinement problems as the non-domesticated species. The Captive Animals’ Protection Society, working with other charities, is lobbying hard for the government to bring animal use in circuses to an end. In the meantime, we encourage people to visit only those shows that rely entirely on the skills of human performers. Manchester, UK
Flat Earth From Mark Brandon In discussing whether the universe is flat, Eugenie Samuel Reich compares this premise to the myth that once upon a time, we believed the Earth was flat (16 May, p 15). However, if the BBC’s QI programme is correct, and its entire stall is set out on reporting the truth, there is no evidence whatever that people ever believed the world was flat. Chaucer didn’t, and Columbus
believed it was pear-shaped. It quotes “leading Medievalist” Terry Jones as pouring cold water on the theory, and where Jones goes, I tend to follow. So, the gauntlet is down: can you cite any evidence that our forebears believed in a flat Earth? London, UK The editor writes: ■ Terry Jones specifically addresses what was known in the Middle Ages. Many ancient cultures, such as that of ancient China, did indeed think the Earth was flat.
The two vectors From David Gilbert C. P. Snow correctly identified the self-segregation of our intellectuals into two mutually isolated cultures (2 May, p 26), but he did not understand the reason behind their mutual contempt, which is their “vector disparity”. Any thought process can be classified into one of two modes, either analytical/investigative or creative/constructive. Both cultures include examples of both modes of thought, but they differ in the vector relationships between them. In science, we have analytical activities such as chemistry and physics, and constructive activities such as engineering and medicine. The creation of a building depends on the underlying physics, and achieving a medical cure depends on the underlying biology.
In the humanities we also have analytical activities, such as history and musicology, and creative activities such as composition, performance, statesmanship and military command. But here the vector operates in the opposite direction. For example, the historian is dependent on the actions of politicians and generals. Unconsciously, each culture has developed a yardstick for its own activities and then applied it inappropriately to the other. In science the yardstick says that analysis is primary (creative, good) and construction is secondary (derivative, less good). In the humanities, on the other hand, construction is primary (imaginative, good) while analysis is secondary (pedantic, less good). It is the inappropriate use of these yardsticks that has caused Snow’s “two cultures” to drift into mutual incomprehension. A physicist, for example, may think of a sculptor as a “mere manufacturer” while the sculptor may think of the physicist as a “mere dismantler”. Perhaps if our educators were to teach this disparity in vector relationships, the two cultures might learn to get along with each other a little better. Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, UK
Ballast buoyancy From David Hobday I think Feedback and Paul Spicker took a poorly aimed shot at the advertisement for “5 star Luxury European River Cruises” when remarking on its assertion that the cabin windows don’t sink below water level “even when passing under low bridges” (30 May). Our vintage paddle steamers on the Murray river often need to adjust their ballast water to ensure safe clearance under the lowest bridges. I suspect that the cruisers in the ad also have such a facility. The fuel saved by keeping
the vessel as light as possible outweighs the cost of increasing the draught occasionally. Bateau Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Black Sea life From Pamela Kemp In his review of Alanna Mitchell’s Seasick, Fred Pearce states that the Black Sea “has been lifeless for thousands of years” (9 May, p 45). This is not true: the upper levels of the Black Sea have lots of aquatic life. It is only the lower level which is anoxic. Mauzac et Grand Castang, France
For the record ■ In our story on premature babies’ posture and IQ, we should have said that researchers filmed the babies 11 to 16 weeks after their expected birth date, had they reached full term, rather than after their actual birth date (13 June, p 12). ■ The correct link to the work by Mark Bulmer of Towson University, Maryland, on using glucose to combat termite troubles is DOI: 10.1073/ pnas.0904063106 (13 June, p 14) 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.
27 June 2009 | NewScientist | 27