Life, the universe and everything 鈥� in pictures
There has been a lot of talk of using the power of AI to create unique images, including movies, but how about going a step further in all of this(19 November, p 14).
If, say, we had a 1-megapixel matrix, with three colours and 256 brightness levels possible per pixel, and gave it sequential inputs for every pixel and every variable, then, as each possibility was created, intelligible images would be produced from time to time out of the random noise.
This might produce every image it is possible to see 鈥� and lots that it isn’t, such as randomly generated pictures of your grandparents at every age and from different directions, a clear picture of who shot JFK from the grassy knoll 鈥� and one with Nixon’s face or yours 鈥� a blackboard with the formula for faster-than-light travel and, of course, hundreds of millions that are unintelligible.
My maths isn’t great, but I estimate we could go through the entire sequence in about 1050 years with present technology, but an advanced civilisation might get that down to a few billion years.
The Titanic solution for stemming glacier melt
Building a curtain across the Jakobshavn glacier in Greenland 鈥� a suggestion to slow it melting 鈥� is estimated to take a minimum of 30 years and be expensive. A quick, albeit unsightly, fix would be to sink two or more large ships across the front of the glacier, which would block the influx of warmer water that is quickly melting the ice(29 October, p 8).
Plenty of ships are waiting to be scrapped, so the owners may pay to be rid of them. If necessary, filling the ships with rock would ensure they remain in place.
Depending on the depth, other ships could be gently sunk on top to block the current all the way to the surface. Calving icebergs would be held back by the temporary dam, hopefully protecting the glacier further.
Just cover Colorado river reservoirs in solar panels
Your article sets out the need to reduce evaporation from reservoirs on the Colorado river. Is it possible to cover these with floating arrays of solar panels? Given that solar radiation poses the greatest risk of evaporation, these panels would significantly reduce the effect of the sun on the lakes and would, of course, be able to generate large amounts of electricity(26 November, p 40 (p 36 in US)).
Look at pain was both brave and powerful (1)
Graham Lawton’s article on nociplastic pain, as part of your wider look at pain, was powerful, moving and, at the end, shocking. As a family doctor, I am aware of the misery of this condition, the lack of availability of effective treatment on the National Health Service and the misunderstanding of it among colleagues. It was bravely written by a highly effective writer. Thank you(19 November, p 38).
Look at pain was both brave and powerful (2)
In your collection of articles on pain, I would have liked to have seen a reference to hypnosis. As a former psychologist, I experienced its dramatic improvement of pain, especially in good hypnotic subjects. There are even reported instances of its use to induce total anaesthesia for surgery.
Look at pain was both brave and powerful (3)
Your excellent articles on pain refer to the beneficial effects of placebo. Many clinical trials have compared the effect of placebo versus no treatment for a variety of conditions. A review of these, published in 2001 (), concluded that placebos have no significant clinical benefit.
Look at pain was both brave and powerful (4)
When it comes to pain, we should acknowledge how exercise may help control it. After wrenching a knee, I read that exercise might help, and this proved to be the case. Without it, I could have been on painkillers for 15 years and would probably be immobile. Doctors need to consider alternatives to medication.
Events in the US weaken the West's call for rights
Your leader on the challenges of population change states that all countries should be educating women and respecting their rights. That is certainly true, but in the US, which claims to be an enlightened society, many states are in the process of rescinding reproductive rights(Leader, 12 November).
It rather weakens the West’s case when suggesting to other parts of the world that they improve women’s rights, if one of the largest of “ours” is removing them.
Crops under solar is even better in the tropics
Michael Le Page mentions that crops can be grown under solar panels so that farmland used for solar energy isn’t wasted. Indeed, there is great potential for this combined strategy in tropical countries, where rows of solar panels can cover half the field, providing shade for plants and supporting rainwater harvesting. While economic returns in the tropics can be high, financing has been a stumbling block(5 November, p 27).
Reasons why biofuels should have a role
I totally agree with Fred White that we should get as much energy as we can from solar panels, but in playing down the potential role of biofuels, he misses two important points(Letters, 19 November).
Firstly, biofuel, once produced, is available day or night, rain or shine. Secondly, producing biofuel from algae rather than crop plants generates a much higher yield per hectare and, importantly, requires no agricultural land.
As has been pointed out many times in your pages, lithium is a scarce resource and we simply can’t rely on it to meet our considerable backup energy needs by storing excess solar power in batteries. Uranium for fission seems to be getting more attention lately, but we have about 50 years of high-grade uranium ore left. That isn’t going to see my grandchildren through.
There are two sensible energy sources, algal biofuel and “green” hydrogen. That is where our investment should go.