Letters archive

My interest was piqued by two recent New Scientist articles discussing the relationship between organisational structure and human behaviour. In his article comparing banking institutions and colonies of bacteria, Harvey Rubin picks out similarities between the two (19 September, p 24) . These are phenotypical – that is, observable – while the differences between them …

In his review of my book Don't Be Such a Scientist: Talking substance in an age of style , Michael Brooks suggests that I am advocating inaccuracy in the communication of science (3 October, p 49) . Brooks distorts the message of the book when he writes that I advise "bending the facts when they …

Noel Sharkey's rejection of the computational theory of mind – the theoretical foundation of artificial intelligence – is a breath of fresh air (29 August, p 28) . As Sharkey rightly says, the intelligence is in the human who creates the program, not in the program itself. But in making this point, Sharkey goes further …

Hugh McLachlan is right to raise fundamental issues about Richard Dawkins's and David Hume's arguments against miracles (8 August, p 26) , which are, as he suggests, weak if not circular. Unfortunately, he mars his own case by making the same mistake as Hume and other philosophers in assuming that scientific laws are statements of …

In his article on models of insect flight, Paul Marks attributes the first theory on how bumblebees are able to fly, despite their apparent defiance of the rules of aerodynamics, to Tony Maxworthy in 1981 (26 September, p 22) . However, I recall from my days as an undergraduate at the University of St Andrews …

In your feature on making the world a better place, Michael Le Page suggests replacing mutton and beef with chicken, pork and if you live in Australia, more kangaroos (19 September, p 32) . However, any expansion of the kangaroo-meat industry would be problematic as, unlike cattle and other stock animals, kangaroos fare badly when …

Your article suggesting that Velociraptor used its claws to climb trees sparked debate in our household (12 September, p 10) . My 9-year-old son, the family expert on dinosaurs, pointed out that most specimens have been found in the desert environments of the Djadochta formation in Mongolia and Chinese Inner Mongolia. Indeed, the most famous …

When Feedback once more addressed the proliferation of feeble warning signs, I was reminded of one of my father's favourite anecdotes (8 August) . In the 1930s, he was plagued with petty thefts from his allotment shed. As his security measures were proving ineffectual, he hit upon a solution. He acquired a 40 kilo-ohm electrical …