Letters archive

  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 …

  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 Schrödinger might be turning in his grave as a result. However, I suspect if we flipped up the lid and looked …

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 …

"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 – rotten flesh, plant roots and …

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 …

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! …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 ).