From James Hardy, Belfast, UK
The article “We may have figured out a way to send messages backwards in time” raises an interesting prospect. If given only three words, what would you text back to your younger self? I might pick: Almanac, Somme, Hiroshima (9 May, p 8).
Isaac Newton’s gravity made sense of the stability of the solar system noted by “Almanac” writers since humans first pondered the night sky. “Somme” reminds us how external social forces undermined human optimism in science-led progress as the first world war erupted. “Hiroshima”, or the test blast in New Mexico beforehand, reminds us how the finest earlier theories, even of geniuses like Newton, can be rapidly revised or replaced. But would my teenage self have listened to or understood these one-word hints? Probably not.
