Nature isn't less natural just because we are in it
Claiming that there was once a time when nature was in a perfect, “pristine pre-industrial state”, as mentioned in Graham Lawton’s column on ecocide, is a fallacy 8 May, p 24.
A preference for one environment or species over another is purely a human judgement; evolution has no inclination for, say, an English bluebell over a Spanish bluebell, or English farmland over the forests that were cleared to create it.
The concept of pristine nature seems reliant on the idea that our species isn’t the result of natural causes or evolution like every other organism on the planet, but a deus ex machina that sits outside nature and interferes with it. The dams we build are as “natural” as those that a beaver makes, and both can result in good and bad consequences.
All isn’t doom and gloom in a world influenced by humans, as ecologist Chris Thomas writes in Inheritors of the Earth. He says that our influence is actually leading to an acceleration of new species.
Lockdown keeps the pantry close to hand
You report a study claiming that decreased physical activity during the first covid-19 lockdown in England may lead to increased obesity 8 May, p 10. But I have recently read several convincing articles in 快猫短视频 showing evidence that there is little correlation between exercise and weight change when measuring over periods longer than a month or two.
If obesity is the phenomenon of interest, the researchers would do better collecting data on weight change from their subjects. I wouldn’t be surprised to find an increase, but I suspect that boredom and displacement activity leading to increased “grazing” from the pantry is more likely to be the cause.
Another way to improve your metacognition
Reading Stephen Fleming’s article on self-reflection, I realised there is at least one training exercise that might improve metacognition 鈥� the ability to think about our own thinking 鈥� that millions of people do every day: crosswords 8 May, p 36.
How well does your answer fit the clue? Is it the right length? Does it match the existing letters? We get quick feedback on the correctness of our ideas, which Fleming suggests should give us “heightened metacognitive sensitivity”. I wonder whether regular crossworders do better on metacognitive tests.
Underwater archaeology is a wave well worth riding
You report rising interest in the archaeology of seabeds that were once land 17 April, p 44. Another reason to think coastal areas would be rich in possible finds is the idea that food supplies were effectively static in these areas. Unlike forests or open plains, where hunter-gatherers would have had to be constantly following game, seafood can be found on beaches and under rocks at any time of the year.
Although this would mean that the early humans living by the sea, maybe in fairly large numbers, could lead sedentary lives, it might also mean that they had to be called upon to defend their coastal “asset” from other groups.
If that was the case, it might also indicate that these were the first people to develop social hierarchies and a warrior caste, and the first to have the time and means to develop arts and crafts. It might also have allowed contagious diseases to evolve in more unsanitary conditions.
Quantum theory equation is far from unacceptable
Regarding Brian Reffin Smith’s letter reducing to absurdity the equation cited by Carlo Rovelli in his take on quantum theory Letters, 10 April. The equation doesn’t deserve ridicule. It is no more controversial than the theory it is part of. Physicists used and accepted such “non-commuting” equations long before Rovelli was born.
The platypus's glow may be an accident
In your look at the platypus, you write that its “pelt glows in UV light, which makes no sense for a nocturnal animal” 8 May, p 41.
It only makes no sense if you assume the fluorescence is the function, not just a consequence of a complex chemical structure for some other purpose, perhaps waterproofing. It is like supposing that the only purpose of haemoglobin is to make blood red.
My views on trees were justified after six decades
Nearly 60 years ago, I had an argument with the curate taking our bible class 1 May, p 39. I thought the grove of silver birches outside might be conscious and able to communicate with each other; he wouldn’t have a bit of it because, he told me, the bible said only humans could possibly have these attributes. I never went back to bible class. At 73, I feel vindicated after your interview with Suzanne Simard on the ways in which trees communicate and cooperate.
Extra historical notes on sweet, red watermelon
To add to James Wong’s thoughts about the colour of watermelons historically, there is more evidence from the 14th century that the inside of the fruit was red then 24 April, p 22.
Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta travelled throughout Eurasia. He loved his food and observed that Khwarazm, south of the Aral Sea, produced a “wonderful melon” of which “the rind is green, and the flesh is red, of extreme sweetness and firm texture” and which was sometimes dried in slices. This certainly sounds like watermelon, which is still preserved in that way.
Battle against malaria was an inspiring story
Thank you for your article about the fight to eradicate malaria 1 May, p 44. Quite apart from reporting the success in tackling that terrible disease, you included a statistic that at any time would be a source of hope, and especially now.
Anuradha Gupta’s quote saying that, compared with two decades ago, we now save 8.5 million children per year from dying is quite simply the best statistic I can recall reading. The fact that this has happened in lower-income countries is all the more inspiring. Sadly, I suspect that the astonishing success in these nations has gone under the radar for many people.