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6 January 2001
From Jim Ring
Some misleading information on the relative safety of hydrogen and other fuels appeared in your feature. It is really very difficult to ignite a mixture of petrol or gasoline vapour and air. At most ratios these two gases will not ignite. A near-empty fuel tank in a car contains a considerable quantity of oxygen, and …
6 January 2001
From Anthony Judge, Union of International Associations
The excellent article on Bill Phillips's hydraulic model of the national economy (9 December 2000, p 46) raises the possibility of using models incorporating tanks, plumbing and water to help clarify aspects of globalisation for both pro and anti lobbies in that debate. The implications of globalisation have never been effectively explored in simulations, as …
6 January 2001
From Svein Olav Nyberg
If you're worried about viruses spreading via HTML in e-mail messages (9 December 2000, p 14), rest assured: they don't. HTML itself is harmless, as other HTML-enabled e-mail clients such as Eudora prove. What makes the virus potentially risky in Microsoft Outlook is that it executes the scripting code that can be included with the …
6 January 2001
From Dennis Wort
In "Kicking the habit", your feature on the hydrogen economy (25 November 2000, p 34) , you fail to answer a fundamental question: can it be guaranteed that any hydrogen-fuelled car parked in a garage is totally leak-free? It's a vital concern. The gas is utterly odourless, but explosive when mixed with air in any …
6 January 2001
From William Wilkinson, Imperial College
Your editorial on the discharges of technetium-99 from Sellafield (9 December 2000, p 3) raises important issues of policy on environmental protection, which are of concern not only to the nuclear industry but also to many other industries vital to Britain's prosperity. It is true that treating stored liquid wastes at Sellafield to remove plutonium …
6 January 2001
From Magnus Ellingsen
I was successfully fooled by the four tests designed to demonstrate the power of the illusions the mind can create. I think, though, that it may be an element of confusion rather than illusion that fooled me. All the tests start with the statement, "There is a pin and/or a bolt on the table, or …
6 January 2001
Several readers have suggested that the mental illusions reported in "Fooled again" might be attributed to interpretations of the wording of the questions, rather than an inability to deal with falsity. Philip Johnson-Laird, who carried out the research, believes he has eliminated this possibility. He asked subjects to explain their thought processes out loud while …
6 January 2001
From Ted Smith
The serious decline in cod stocks (16 December 2000, p 21) means we're looking closely at fish farming again. But it's a costly option, and fishmeal—traditionally a major ingredient in fish food—will inevitably decline in quality and quantity as stocks become scarcer. Enter the earthworm. Earthworms are nutritionally superior to fishmeal and are now produced …
6 January 2001
From Garry Knight
A couple of points strike me about the article on logical breakdown (9 December 2000, p 24) . Mental models that include falsity are difficult to build because they mix the concrete and the symbolic. Take the old example offered by thinkers of various kinds down the ages: "Don't think of an elephant." It's almost …
Issue no. 2272 published 6 January 2001
