Thoughts on being an independent "otrovert" (1)
The article about otroverts, a new personality type, really resonated with me. Growing up, I also felt pressured to join the Scouts, but I never wanted to and my parents respected that(16 August, p 19).
It was clear to me from a very young age that I didn’t quite belong and that I didn’t really care to. I completely agree with Rami Kaminski that this let me tread my own path without the constraints of any group’s unwritten rules.
I also share his view that otroverts can and do form meaningful connections with others. Without the pressure to please members of a group, we don’t have bonds with others just because “we’re all part of the pack”; instead, we are free to expend more energy creating real bonds with those we are truly fond of. I am glad to see this recognised as simply a different way of seeing the world. But, to be honest, my happiness has never depended on it.
Thoughts on being an independent "otrovert" (2)
Kaminski claims we are all “born otroverts”. How does this fit with the common observation that babies interact and form bonds with others from a young age?
High-speed interstellar missions may be risky
There is a major problem for a spacecraft travelling at relativistic speeds, as suggested in the proposal for a mission to a black hole: damage by particles in space(16 August, p 13).
At such speeds, any particle that a craft collided with would be like an energetic cosmic ray particle carrying kinetic energy more than a million times bigger than the dissociation energy of the strongest chemical bond. Even though the density of matter in intergalactic space is as low as an atom per cubic metre, an object moving at a third the speed of light can encounter 100,000,000 atoms per square metre per second, or about 10,000 times the rate of cosmic ray particles hitting astronauts and satellites in space. Could the thin sail and delicate electronics of such a fast probe survive 75 years in space?
The campaign for lower loos begins here
After suffering a bladder prolapse, I was told the importance of not straining on the loo, lest it happen again. Consequently, I researched the subject, bought a folding squat stool and included as much fibre as possible in my diet. The improvement has been huge(9 August, p 38).
Something of great importance that doctors never told me is your position during the act: lean forwards and keep your knees up and apart. It leads me to believe that another reason why so many more women than men have issues with constipation could be because they are shorter. Perhaps toilets are made to a height that generally suits men, and for ladies to be best-positioned, they need to be lower. I can feel a growing movement calling for lower loos.
A reminder that the end is nigh in a few billion years
Leah Crane suggests donning a spacesuit in her look at the solar system. I did do this, but that was back in 1969 to re-enact the moon landings. In my collection of How and Why Wonder Books, there was a volume about the solar system. The final page described how the sun would expand over the next few billion years, and it scared the willies out me(16 August, p 32).
I have calmed down since then, but now you have reminded me. And we are now 56 years closer to the end!
Start young for a healthy old age
Future biomedical research will probably provide years of better health in older age. However, to live long enough to enjoy this, young people must be encouraged to lead extremely healthy lifestyles. The obvious requirements are a healthy diet, minimal alcohol, no drugs of addiction and a consistent exercise and strength-maintenance programme. The brain should also be nurtured through continual learning and no excessive stress. Unfortunately, this may seem boring and challenging to some, but the benefits could be immense(16 August, p 28).
Path to pet dogs may have worked for other species
The idea that our ancient ancestors raised wolf pups as pets and then harvested them makes perfect sense, an idea proposed as a route to eventual domestication(9 August, p 34).
Could our ancestors have also raised juvenile ungulates for the products they would yield as adults? I can easily picture a band of hunters discovering a baby deer near its slain mother and subsequently taking it in. I know from experience that white-tailed fawns easily bond with human caretakers. So it isn’t a stretch to imagine similarly tamed deer following a band of palaeolithic hunters.
Thoughts on making reuse of waste profitable
The ideas at the heart of On Natural Capital remind me of the relationship between externalities 鈥� the peripheral costs of producing goods not included in their price 鈥� and the economics of recycling(2 August, p 27).
My favourite example is plastics, which can be pyrolysed and turned back into alkanes that are then separated into their component parts. This process may not be profitable using our narrow definition of profitability. However, if you credit the recycler with the cost of the damage they mitigate by getting rid of these materials, I am pretty sure it would be very profitable. The same principle would make recycling a whole range of other waste materials economically desirable.
Public transport won't solve all our travel woes
It is a myth that public transport is the answer to traffic woes. Public transport doesn’t go everywhere. It doesn’t allow for the user’s choice of time, route or travel companions, and the most flexible form of public transport, taxis, is also the most expensive, so public transport isn’t necessarily accessible to everyone. It has a place, for example in rush hour, but it isn’t a panacea by any means(Letters, 14 June).