Surely there is more to baby boomer misery
You report research that concludes baby boomers are the “unhappiest generation” because of “greater competition” in a large cohort (5 March, p 21). This raises the question: can cohort size really be the only cause? What about the intergenerational and epigenetic changes from two world wars? These would relate to the effects of stress and social, economic and nutritional shifts.
A large proportion of the baby boom generation had grandparents affected by the first world war. The parents of the boomers were born to, and raised by, those people; then they themselves were affected by the second world war. These parents then gave birth to and raised the boomers. Can all of this be ignored?
Could a slight change avoid reliance on Russian fuels?
Further to coverage of energy issues related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine (5 March, p 9). Less than 10 per cent of the oil and gas used in the UK seems to be imported from Russia, and the figures are smaller in the US.
Is it too simplistic to suggest that if everyone in these countries cut use of oil and gas by a minor degree, there would be no need to import from Russia, no need to court questionable regimes for supplies, and no need to revive the case for fracking in the UK?
Advice from a Pollyanna on keeping up spirits
Following up on David Robson’s article “The pursuit of happiness”, as a Pollyanna with a relentlessly sunny disposition, I am never lonely or depressed (22 January, p 38).
I offer the following lessons to add to Laurie Santos’s free online course that Robson mentions: enjoy your own company; use your imagination, be creative, be a maker; enjoy the creativity of others 鈥� writing, music, films, art, plays and so on.
Solar doesn't need to cover fields with panels
In reference to the circular economy, Geoff Russell paraphrases that “for every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong” (Letters, 5 March). He says this applies to mass solar power, in part due to its land requirements.
This ignores a clear and simple application of solar panels 鈥� on the 50 per cent of pitched roofs in countries such as the UK that face south-east to south-west. There is already a system to feed surplus solar electricity into the grid in productive periods, and with better batteries, more houses can become self-sufficient. There is no need for vast solar panel arrays.
The many unsung health benefits of owning cats
In your article “Dogs trump cats in helping people stay fit as they age”, the conclusion appears to be that walking a dog regularly has benefits in reducing future ill health, but that having cats has no ongoing health benefits (5 March, p 23).
I suggest the researchers are defining health and disability too narrowly, and particularly missing out the role of cats for people who have ongoing mental health issues or are neurodivergent. Many such adults, especially if single, are aware they can’t manage the day to day needs of a dog, but having a cat can provide a furry friend.
I often tell people that “my cats are the people I come home to”. There seems to be evidence that cat ownership by people with poor mental health has a beneficial effect on their lives because of their commitment to and relationship with their cat.
It would be interesting to see some research into the benefits of feline companionship for single adults, and particularly those with already existing conditions, whether physical, neurological, or psychological.
It might be wise to temper long covid cure hopes
It may turn out to be premature to think that many treatments will become available for long covid a year after the immunological toolkit has been applied to studying the condition (26 February, p 38).
If current research doesn’t yield the hoped-for answers, then paths forward become elusive. People with similar conditions, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also called chronic fatigue syndrome, have come to know this only too well.
We should consider the idea that a latent infection, carried undetected and capable of evading and confusing the immune system, is involved in long covid. Were this to be the case, then any additional serious health challenge, such as the coronavirus, might cause the immune system to become overwhelmed. At that point, any latent infection would have a chance to manifest.
I'm ready to catch the slugs, but what then?
After reading your interview with “slug hunter” Rory Mc Donnell, I’m all set to trot outside with bread dough to catch the little blighters (5 March, p 48). But if it works as well as it did for Mc Donnell, I’m picturing heaving balls of live and happily feasting slugs and snails.
He talks about “terminating” more than 18,000 snails. My question is: how? Instruction part two needed, please.
A good book is as good as self-transcendence (1)
Regarding your look at the benefits of self-transcendence (5 March, p 44). Simply losing yourself in a good book can be a benefit in this world of constant outside stimuli.
A good book is as good as self-transcendence (2)
Is it the case that transcendental experiences could counteract the depression and anxiety generated in most people by the reports of daily horrors in Ukraine?
London cabbies seem to be able to gain new brain cells
The idea that adults can’t grow new brain cells clashes with some empirical evidence (26 February, p 16). In particular, reports of trainee London taxi drivers developing enlarged geographical capability with a corresponding rise in brain size when learning “the knowledge”, a taxing test of navigating the city.