Meeting Heisenberg and reconsidering Schr枚dinger (1)
From Maggie Cobbett, Ripon, North Yorkshire, UK
Your special issue on quantum theory took me back to 1974, when I had the honour of shaking Werner Heisenberg’s hand. He was guest of honour at the new Heisenberg Gymnasium in Dortmund, Germany, where I was teaching English(19 April, p 29).
As I joined the line of staff to be presented to him, I was hoping for a few words to treasure. After all, he was the first 鈥� and, so far, only 鈥� Nobel prizewinner I have met. Introduced to the great man by the headmaster as “our English colleague”, I was full of anticipation, only to hear him say: “Oh, so you teach English, do you?” Then he moved on. Such is life!
Meeting Heisenberg and reconsidering Schr枚dinger (2)
I have always loved Carlo Rovelli’s brilliant writing. Doesn’t his book The Order of Time move you to tears in the final chapter? And his history of quantum theory was illuminating, but Erwin Schr枚dinger might be turning in his grave as a result. However, I suspect if we flipped up the lid and looked inside, maybe he wouldn’t be.
Thinking about how the classical world emerges
Your article about quantum Darwinism delved into a new attempt to explain how a classical reality common to us all emerges from the quantum realm. It seems to me that our subjective experience of living in this universe can give us great insight(12 April, p 8).
It appears self-evident that the future is unknown and the past is known. As many perspectives interact, future possibilities are constrained more and more, so the classical world we all experience in the here and now emerges as a shared one.
How the dinosaurs finally met their end?
“Rethinking dinosaurs’ decline” looks at their state prior to an asteroid strike that is thought to have wiped them out. But is it possible that, even after this event, dinosaurs made a slow population recovery? Could small, burrowing, rodent-like mammals, our ancient ancestors, scavenging for whatever they could eat 鈥� rotten flesh, plant roots and dinosaur eggs 鈥� have finally doomed them to extinction? Even today on remote islands, rats from ships can wipe out ground-roosting birds(19 April, p 15).
Cooperation may be key to cultural gains
Colin Barras’s intriguing article on the relationship between human and non-human culture may have missed a significant difference. Human cultures, and the development and manufacture of technologies within them, depend upon a division of labour. No one person is typically responsible for the whole thing(5 April, p 36).
To take the example of the violin used in the article, the instrument-maker relies on a forester for wood; a carpenter, no doubt, processes the wood into a form in which it can be used by the instrument-maker; a sheep farmer supplies the gut for strings; and at the end of the process, someone else actually plays the violin, typically using music composed by yet another specialist. So, could the reason why human cultures develop so swiftly be down to this exploitation of specialisation and cooperation?
Cooperation may be key to cultural gains
How to explain the difference between non-human animals and ourselves? Easy: humans are hubristic. We are the pinnacle of evolution! The crown of creation! Are we not? Truly, dear reader, we are the most magnificent creatures on Earth. And soon we will fly to other planets where we will copulate and populate the universe itself! Yea! Hallelujah!
A willing blood donor seeks new recipient
Name/address withheld on request
I have been a blood donor since I was 17 (I am 63 now). I was recently told that I no longer needed to give regular donations, as they have sufficient supplies of my blood type(22 March, p 18). I have always felt it to be a good thing to donate, not only ethically but also physically, as suggested by your article on post-donation regeneration. Is there a useful alternative way of giving blood, whether it be for research purposes or such like?
Semaglutide side effect: The hangry man theory
I read with interest about the “middle-class microdoser” of the weight-loss drug Wegovy, who lost 20 kilograms of body weight over nine months. That is a long time to be eating less than his body needed each day. He reflected on becoming grumpy over that time and wondered if it was a side effect of the drug. Could the reason be simpler? As the father of an always-hungry teen, I know that when my son is low on nutrition, he gets grumpy. I see the same reaction in myself too(Letters, 19 April).
If we don't try a Mars colony, we'll never know
Letters, various dates From Michael Wigley, Bissoe, Cornwall, UK
There has been a lot of coverage, mainly negative, on the idea of humans colonising Mars.
However, there is a long history of scientists saying something is impossible, only for it to be achieved. And even if we try and fail, it is likely to be worth the effort. We all know about the spin-offs from the Apollo missions, such as CT scans. To successfully colonise Mars, we may have to conquer cancer (there is no protective magnetic field on Mars), and have full closed-loop waste and water recycling, similarly efficient food production and more. Progress was never won by not attempting something.
SOS appeal to coders: Save our 'smart' TVs
If Mel Earp’s old code is running in my smart TV, could they pop round and fix it so I can keep watching Netflix? The screen is perfect, the 5.1 sound is impeccable, and digital TV, satellite and BBC iPlayer are all fine, but Netflix isn’t working and there is no update available(Letters, 12 April). This is obsolescence gone mad!
For the record
Any given number between 0 and 1023 can be stored using a maximum of 10 conventional computer bits; a quantum device with 10 qubits could store all the numbers at once (19 April, p 32).