Take the balloon analogy to even greater heights
I think Chanda Prescod-Weinstein misses an opportunity with her balloon analogy for the expansion of space-time (9 July, p 28). The point is that the expanding surface of the balloon is all there is to flatlanders, or inhabitants of a two-dimensional universe (thank you, Edwin Abbott, author of Flatland).
They are unable to comprehend what they are expanding into, as they are unaware of the third spatial dimension that we have at our disposal. They will agree that there was probably a time at which they were all infinitely close together, and that the distance between them is expanding, so that for their purposes, all of space is expanding.
I am not suggesting that our universe of three spatial dimensions plus time is necessarily expanding into an unperceived higher dimension, but only that the flatlanders’ universe is just as puzzling to them as ours is to us.
Stilling your inner voice can be absolute bliss
The article “Internal affairs” has a striking relevance to the practice of Buddhism, which teaches us that there are six senses: the usual five plus consciousness (9 July, p 46). The latter makes us aware of the first five sensory experiences, and the consequent pleasure and suffering. Consciousness commentates on them, with the equivalent of the inner voice, and experiences the pleasure and pain that is attached to them.
However, above that is the “non-self”, equivalent to the unconscious, which is aware of the consequences on the conscious, but not connected to it, and normally not accessible to us.
Buddhist practice (chiefly meditation) allows us to achieve this non-attached awareness, and thus achieve the transcendent state known as nirvana. This was well described by US neuroanatomist and author Jill Bolte Taylor as the “blissful” silence that comes with the absence of the inner voice.
Hear, hear to the call for more vocal scientists
I wholeheartedly agree with Martin van Raay in his urging greater outspokenness among scientists on climate issues (Letters, 9 July). As a clear example, may I draw your attention to the in the June edition of US journal Monthly Review.
This points out that as well as the main Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, two summaries representing the scientific consensus and the governmental consensus were also released.
However, these are significantly different, and the journal highlights 19 of the more crucial amendments and omissions when comparing the government consensus with the scientific one. The scientists should be howling their indignation about this from the rooftops.
Crime prediction will be coming to a city near you
You report the crime-prediction ability of an artificial intelligence model (9 July, p 18). It may not be Minority Report yet, but the first chapter is definitely in sight.
Prediction accuracies close to 90 per cent are impressive. The good thing is the model has the ability to expose biases. So, in the near future, it can be expected that its predictions will be nearly free from biases. It wouldn’t be a surprise if in three to five years from now, we are all using these models in real-time in direct resource allocations.
No sympathy for the UK's post-Brexit predicament
I write regarding the interview with George Freeman, who was UK science minister at the time 鈥� before the recent spate of government resignations (2 July, p 9). In the Brexit negotiations, the UK used the livelihoods, families and futures of 3 million European Union citizens who had legally settled in the UK as collateral.
As one of those affected, it evinces little sympathy when the European Research Council now treats dozens of UK nominees to EU Horizon research grants as “pawns” to make the UK obey international law with respect to Northern Ireland.
There are better ways to capture carbon in the sea
Using figures quoted in the article “Engineering the oceans”, alkalinity enhancement of the sea requires some 3 tonnes of relevant mineral to be spread on the oceans for each tonne of carbon dioxide to be sequestered (2 July, p 46). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that about 7 billion tonnes of CO2 per year need to be sequestered, so some 20 billion tonnes of minerals must be mined, transported and spread on the oceans each year.
Surely, enhancing the natural upwelling of nutrient-rich deep waters that currently support important fishing grounds, such as those off Peru and south-west Africa, is a more practicable option, as sea life also takes up carbon. We could more widely augment the natural ecology with added nutrients such as those found in whale poo, particularly iron, the lack of which inhibits fisheries. Treaties that hinder this need to be urgently reconsidered in the face of the effects of ongoing climate change, not to mention the need for more food from fisheries.
Warfare may have made us, but it may undo us
You report on research that suggests warfare at least partially sparked the rise of complex civilisations (2 July, p 14).
Before supporters of and apologists for military activity get too excited, it should perhaps be pointed out that complex civilisations have, in the main, been responsible for large-scale wars and the climate emergency.
What’s more, with the rise of nuclear weapons, wars may well lead to the destruction of complex civilisations.
On the problems of racist and sexist AIs
Your story “Artificially intelligent robot perpetuates racist and sexist prejudices” makes me wonder if we should be taking a closer look at the demographics of all those behind such systems (2 July, p 12).