Letters archive

I am interested in Dan Hind's proposal to distribute a portion of research funding according to a democratic public vote (11 December 2010, p 26) , but it would be helpful if he would define the word "public". Who would constitute this public? Individuals from all races, creeds and colours; political parties; all ranges of …

Rather than arguing over their respective interests, delegates to last month's climate conference at Cancún might have better spent their time playing the Fate of the World game reviewed by Clint Witchalls ( 4 December 2010, p 44 ) to see the consequences of their policies for life on Earth. The delegates could run the …

While I broadly agree with Dick Taverne's article calling for a rational drug policy (27 November 2010, p 26) , it seems to miss the point that the social harm done by a drug is subjectively defined. In the case of drugs that have a definable ill-effect on the user, and the user alone, it …

Your Feedback article proposing a shoe defibrillator was truly a shocker (20 November 2010) . It said: "In case of need, you take the shoes off, pop your hands inside, and apply the soles to your chest to administer the required electric shock." Yikes! The purpose of a defibrillator is to start a stopped heart. …

Sujata Gupta paints a misleadingly positive picture of bottom trawling (27 November 2010, p 10) . Her article suggests that marine life thrives on the effects of bottom trawling and that the practice creates additional habitats by etching grooves into the flat sea floor. Such claims have been shown time and again to be incorrect. …

Having taught piano and guitar for many years, I have seen the amazing educational benefits that playing an instrument can bring (30 October 2010, p 31) . I have seen students blossom under music tuition. The self-discipline and focus required to learn to play an instrument transfers over to other aspects of life, not to …

While the n Lab website should be congratulated on its error message, Feedback really ought to have pointed out how much it owed to Douglas Adams (4 December 2010) . Compare the end of the n Lab website message – "normal service will be restored once we are sure what 'normal' is" – with an …

Douglas Fox refers to half-human, half-animal figures in his article on anthropomorphism (27 November 2010, p 36) . He did not say what the other half was. The editor writes • The creature was half-man, half-lion and was part of a 32,000-year-old painting in the Hohlenstein-Stadel cave in Germany. From Ian Gordon I know what …