Getting the wrong end of the stick for a long time
I broadly agree with Matt Strassler that the language we use to describe the basic stuff of the universe can obscure our understanding of reality, insofar as we truly can understand reality! I encountered this as a secondary school physics teacher. If not addressed early, conceptual misunderstandings can endure (21 September, p 32).
Some of my colleagues did research into this. They had access to archives of examination scripts from the Scottish Examination Board and department of chemistry at the University of Glasgow. One key finding was that conceptual misunderstandings persisted through to PhD theses. If a concept had been incompletely understood when the student first internalised it, such a misconception was hard to correct, even in people whose ability in a field of study was very high.
There's a lot of value in just getting your hands dirty (1)
Although I am a gardener and an allotment plot-holder, I agree with James Wong’s calculation that the cost of growing one’s own veg exceeds supermarket prices. But what his purely economic calculus omits is the mental satisfaction derived from a hands-on engagement with the natural world, never mind the incalculable benefit of knowing just where one’s potatoes, tomatoes, leeks, cabbages, beans, etc. came from (21 September, p 44).
There's a lot of value in just getting your hands dirty (2)
Most people growing potatoes to save money will cut a supermarket potato into four sections, each with eyes, and grow four plants’ worth. Multiply as needed. You may not officially be able to advocate that and it isn’t what farmers can do, for reasons Wong states, but that is what gets done.
There's a lot of value in just getting your hands dirty (3)
My tomatoes this year cost nothing. A friend’s young granddaughter passed on some spare plants to me. I nurtured them indoors until the weather was good enough, then put them outside in an old bucket with soil and homegrown compost. Now, I enjoy popping out to pick part of my lunch. As for potatoes, end-of-year produce tends to sprout when forgotten. Shoved in the garden, this provides a free crop.
Elites and leaders must rein in carbon footprints
Thank you for highlighting the huge imbalance between the carbon footprints of the wealthiest 1 per cent and those of the rest of us. I have also lost all respect for world leaders of every political shade who continue to fly around the globe to attend conferences that could easily be held on Zoom. While talking the talk on climate change, very few are prepared to set an example by giving up the luxury travel, accommodation and wining and dining that are part and parcel of these events (28 September, p 19).
How to get climate change into TV weather risk-free
You report the possibility of including climate change attribution during broadcast weather forecasts. I do think the scientific community needs to become more bullish about getting the climate message across, although I suspect many climate deniers won’t be swayed (21 September, p 8).
The issues raised about trust in attribution when a weather event fails to take place is a concern and would give ammunition to climate naysayers and vested interests funding their propaganda. Since most forecasts include a pr茅cis of what happened over the past day or so, I would suggest limiting the climate change attribution to the events being recapped, rather than forecast ones. The impact of climate messaging would be maintained, especially for viewers hit by weather events.
OCD is still such a widely misunderstood condition
I was deeply affected reading the article on breakthroughs in understanding and treating obsessive compulsive disorder. Having struggled with OCD since being diagnosed in 2006 (aged 14), I have been surprised just how few people really understand what it is and how debilitating it can be (14 September, p 32).
However, I have never chastised anyone for using the “little bit OCD” quip (Leader, 14 September). Instead, it is an opportunity to educate them 鈥� and perhaps help open doors to more charitable funding for the research so excitingly gathering pace!
Please don't travel to threatened ecosystems
I was delighted to read about the discovery of a new leaf chameleon species in Madagascar, but disheartened by a researcher’s comment that the carbon footprint of ecotourism seems to be justified given the benefits of raised public awareness (21 September, p 14).
The short article and accompanying picture of the adorable little reptile clearly impressed upon me the need for action, without an urge to purchase a plane ticket. I’m sure many readers would feel the same and recognise their importance without infringing on their fragile, threatened ecosystem 鈥� leave that to the expert conservationists.
If dogs have a natural sense of morality, so do we
Research has shown that if you serve two dogs (that know each other) an unfair treat, they know and show anxiety. So isn’t basic morality hardwired in some species? Wouldn’t we be one of these? As soon as we appreciate quantity, we acquire the rudiments of morality, in other words, what is fair and unfair (Letters, 14 September).
Put more effort into non-dark matter avenues
I’ve followed the seemingly never-ending search for dark matter. Occam’s razor says that if you have two competing ideas to explain a phenomenon, opt for the simpler one. In this case, the simpler option is that there is no dark matter and the laws of gravity need to be modified. I have made this case in several journal articles (31 August, p 10).
Please keep an open mind on this and avoid typical statements on dark matter that “we know that x per cent of the universe” is made up of it, because we don’t truly know this. It would be wise to put as much effort into exploring alternative theories of gravity as into searches for dark matter.