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11 October 2023
From Michael Elstob, Bellingdon, Buckinghamshire, UK
Agency alone isn't enough for free will. A self-driving car has a sophisticated form of agency, but no free will. What is needed for free will is creative agency: the capacity of an agent to create its own goals and means for pursuing them ( 30 September, p 32 ). These are created when they …
11 October 2023
From Frank Webster, Guildford, Surrey, UK
Debating free will, or the lack of it, by reference to neuroscience is a category error. Neuroscience is a scientific discipline; free will is a philosophical, moral and religious concept. Brains make decisions and there is no ghost in the machine.
11 October 2023
From Richard Turner, Beverley, East Yorkshire, UK
What I do is influenced by external events, not controlled by them. For instance, I can decide what to do based on a coin toss and no amount of physics could predict how that will turn out. If I decide what to do without tossing a coin, the outcome is still influenced by chance. This …
11 October 2023
From Richard Taylor, Guildford, Surrey, UK
Your article claims that some people worry about judging criminals unfairly if there is no free will, meaning their crimes were predetermined. But if the crime was predetermined, then so is the judgment. Worry not, determinism isn't something that just happens to other people!
11 October 2023
From Rafe Culpin, London, UK
In the article "Risk of mass deaths in heatwaves", you describe the threat to humans of exceeding the maximum survivable wet-bulb temperature and mention that this can be mitigated by, for instance, being in a cool building ( 16 September, p 8 ). But there is no mention of other species. Animals and plants must …
11 October 2023
From Philip Belben, Nettlebridge, Somerset, UK
You reviewed Raymond Hickey's book Life and Language Beyond Earth , mentioning his prediction that aliens will be humanoid, based on a need for locomotion and manipulation. This reminds me of author Larry Niven's argument that most extraterrestrials will be bipeds that traced their ancestry to a fish-like being that emerged from the sea and …
11 October 2023
From Michael Crowe, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Lucy Foulkes discusses possible downsides of "the language of vulnerability and victimhood and harm" creeping into everyday life, saying this could actually make us feel worse. I was reminded of 1997 research on the impact of certain stereotypes on performance ( 23 September, p 33 ). In this case, college women did just as well …
11 October 2023
From Ted Cloak, Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
Of course the whole brain is used in language. The human brain, the most complicated structure in the known universe, evolved. Had it been designed, we might find nice separate compartments for language, motion, thought and so on. But evolution is utterly opportunistic. Any genetic mutation that increased our capacity for language, even a little …
11 October 2023
From Bryn Glover, Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK
The critique of UK prime minister Rishi Sunak's watering down of climate policies was well received, particularly in conjunction with the interview in the same issue with Simon Sharpe on how to speed up decarbonisation ( p 37 ) ( 30 September, p 13 ). Sunak's stance can be countered with a simple piece of …
11 October 2023
From Martin van Raay, Culemborg, The Netherlands
William Hughes-Games asks why politicians haven't done more to stop climate change. Being a local politician, I can offer some insight. Most politicians are "people persons". They aren't versed in science and some even prefer gut feelings above facts. As a scientist speaking to a politician, you don't want to explain a problem in all …
Issue no. 3460 published 14 October 2023
