It isn't really science; it's natural philosophy
Your perceptive article rightly contends that physics (and probably any area of human understanding) can’t be done without metaphysics. This is because of the questions that are unavoidably raised around our view of the nature of reality. This is why I favour a return to the old term “natural philosophy” for science in its broadest sense, since the acquisition of evidence and the forming and testing of theories are only part of what scientists actually do and think about(28 June, p 40).
Some memories take a few days to recover
Memories that can’t be recalled, but still influence us, surely have a close neighbour in those names or words that we know we know, but can’t quite bring to mind. For me, the name of a person or place can sometimes escape my grasp just as I am about to say it. That name is then “on the tip of my tongue”, but can’t be recalled for a while, often for a day or two, after I have slept on it. I have often thought this would be consistent with some connection being broken, or neurotransmitter depleted, by the attempted recall, which has then to be reconnected or replenished in the land of nod(28 June, p 19).
We'll never totally escape the need for fertilisers
The goal of incorporating symbiosis machinery in the roots of non-legume crop plants is worth the investment, but we can never “get rid of chemical fertilisers” totally. Even if we establish bacterial symbiosis in grass crops, for example, and then apply composted animal and human manure, to be able to produce enough food to feed the world’s population, we must maximise the productive capacity of both fertile and marginal land(28 June, p 35).
As crop harvesting removes soil nutrients from the land, we have no choice but to replace them. Nitrogen-fixing rice and wheat would be an enormous boon, but we can’t stop the loss of nutrients to the oceans, so we will at least have to keep applying phosphorus, potassium and trace elements.
It is commonly known as road tax for a reason
I take issue with Ronald Watts’s interpretation, in the debate about how to deter car use, of what parking charges are. I pay a tax to the UK government to put a motor vehicle on the public highway(Letters, 28 June). Why would my payment apply only when my car is moving?
The Tarzan theory of language evolution
Here is another idea about how language arose. As pitch-based communication is widespread among non-human animals, could language have developed from similar-pitched Tarzan-like calls specific to a tribe, by which they could identify its members? As we became more complex, a wider repertoire of melodic vocalisations was needed. Pitched sounds could then have been differentiated more acutely through their combination with consonant- and vowel-type inflections. Over time, the need to communicate both more quickly and more intricately could have evolved into an advancing rapidity of pitch change, with vowel and consonant sounds dominating. This developed into something more like language as it is now(28 June, p 31).
Corporate harm extends to psychological realm
As some corporations continue to exploit and pollute the physical environment, so big tech media corporations are re-engineering the psychological environment. It is evident that they control and manipulate information for gain. Of course, it was ever thus, but current internet media power and reach now means that influence, for good or bad, can be bought, sold and spread in milliseconds. Damage may be less visible than when it is physical, but it is far-reaching, tending to produce and preserve destructive moral, political and economic models(7 June, p 36).
This AI certainly didn't understand the word no
Regarding “AI doesn’t understand the word ‘no’ “. The AI-generated summary of trail users’ comments for a particular trail in a popular hiking app said that there were ticks. But when I read through the comments myself, the only mention of ticks was that there were no ticks(31 May, p 16). This result really put a distrust of AI in me 鈥� what is the point of having a summary if it is wrong?
On the battle to keep risky tick bites at bay (1)
I live in a very bad tick region and I spend hours each day outside always worrying about getting bitten. I was shocked by the idea that anyone wouldn’t want a vaccine that worked in part by giving them an unpleasant reaction to a tick bite. A choice between getting a bad disease from a tick or simply getting an itch seems a no-brainer(21 June, p 36).
On the battle to keep risky tick bites at bay (2)
Excellent article on ticks, and new approaches to controlling them and the diseases they spread. However, the sidebar on how to avoid them omitted a much more effective way to handle exposed clothing. Before washing, throw it in the dryer on high for at least 10 minutes. The clothes will get a lot hotter, and the dryness is better at killing ticks (or anything else).
Cronenberg woz 'ere first (1)
From
Cronenberg woz 'ere first (2)
In a review of Matt Wixey’s Basilisk, you credit David Langford’s 1988 story BLIT with the idea that mere exposure to certain images could cause physical harm. This reminded me of David Cronenberg’s 1983 film Videodrome, in which a TV show induces brain tumours. Brings back memories of renting films on VHS tape.
Calling Earth, anyone home?
A dead satellite gets struck by a micro-meteorite sending a signal to Earth. To an alien, that satellite could look a lot like a doorbell(28 June, p 13).