Two views on the naming of female body parts (1)
I agree with Adam Taor that some of the terminology used for female anatomy, especially reproductive parts, is extremely paternalistic, if not outright misogynistic, and could do with revision(14 June, p 21).
I remember a discussion on the subject involving Germaine Greer, who recalled that once she had found out “vagina” comes from the Latin for “scabbard”, she began to prefer the earthy, four-letter C-word, as it has a more interesting and less demeaning derivation from Old Norse or possibly Latin. Of course, given the less-than-positive uses to which the C-word is now put, making its anatomical use mainstream might be difficult.
Two views on the naming of female body parts (2)
Taor contends that male eponyms for female anatomical structures are somehow wrong. Actually, they are part of the rich history of nomenclature in anatomy. Since the 1960s, many have been supplanted by more descriptive terminology, but a lot of the enduring terms do bring to mind the lives of those long-dead anatomists and surgeons whose names they take.
Labels that are historical in context aren’t shameful or offensive, but may certainly be replaced with more nuanced wording, as has happened over the decades since I studied anatomy.
How mucus helped tame my sore throat
I totally endorse the healing qualities of mucus. My doctor wasn’t able to heal my persistent sore throat, so referred me to a specialist who said my throat was sensitive, not inflamed. So there was no treatment(7 June, p 40).
I discovered that if I swallowed the mucus in my throat, the irritation ceased. Over time, the mucus has lessened the soreness, so it no longer causes out-of-control coughing or persistent irritation. Excellent work, mucus.
Fear a future of 'radical abundance' under AI
We should be grateful that AI companies aren’t, in fact, on the brink of ushering in an era of “radical abundance”. Based on all the evidence of innovations in technology over the past few decades, this wouldn’t result in a “golden era” for humankind, but instead create more obscenely wealthy individuals overseeing crushingly powerful corporations while everybody else toils for minimum wage or is unemployed(21 June, p 10).
We already live in an era of abundance: there is plenty to go around; the problem is that it doesn’t. Society is nearing a crisis of systemic inequality. Perhaps we should focus on fixing that before wasting time on implausible talk of large language models as harbingers of superintelligence.
The US's academic loss may well be others' gain
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is right to remind us that in 1922, Germany was the global epicentre of science and that this pre-eminence was destroyed by the Nazi government. In the 1930s, British and US universities, to their credit and advantage, welcomed scientists fleeing persecution by the Nazis(14 June, p 22).
It appears that US universities are now having their research funds reduced and scientists themselves are even being thrown out of their jobs. Universities in Europe and elsewhere can welcome them. We may not have as much money to fund research, nor can we pay high salaries, but we can offer friendship, a home and the chance to pass on knowledge and even extend it, perhaps to the advantage of the whole world.
Was Tutankhamun's bling done on the cheap?
Economics could also explain why Tutankhamun’s tomb contained so many high-value goods. When his father Akhenaten closed the traditional temples, presumably he seized a lot of their gold. Gold has two key functions: decoration and a medium of exchange. If the temple gold was melted down and turned into a medium of exchange 鈥� perhaps to pay for Akhenaten’s capital, Akhetaten 鈥� it could have led to a fall in gold’s value. In historic terms, it may have been fairly cheap to fill Tutankhamun’s tomb with gold(14 June, p 34).
If Big Pharma won't act, then perhaps states will
The article on new discoveries about cancer cells and nerve cells was very upbeat until near the end, when the pharmaceutical industry’s reluctance to fund work on out-of-patent drugs was raised. I can think of no better argument for the creation of a state-owned drugs manufacturing industry(14 June, p 30).
You can try an isometric workout in your bed
You don’t need to go to a gym to do isometric exercise, where you tighten and hold certain muscles, for example in a plank. You don’t even have to get out of bed, as no movement is needed. I started doing this when I noticed my arms getting weak 鈥� at 79, I am amazed at how my strength has improved(7 June, p 44).
We can take many paths, but all are predestined
The many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics may suggest that humans lack true free will, even though they feel as if they have it. Each choice a person makes splits them into parallel, pre-existing block universes, each with its own fixed past and future. While it may seem like we choose between alternatives, in reality we may merely be shifting onto one of many predetermined paths(7 June, p 8).
Dino could be the labrador of the prehistoric world
Could the sauropod described as an “indiscriminate bulk feeder” have been the dinosaur ancestor of the labrador dog(14 June, p 9)?
Best anti-ageing medicine is your fine magazine
May I hypothesise that a 快猫短视频 subscription invigorates the brain by stimulating curiosity, thus reducing mental ageing(7 June, p 17)?