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22 June 2022
From Guy Inchbald, Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, UK
Causal emergence – the idea that the cause of some events can't be found at the microscopic level – is revolutionary in more ways than one ( 28 May, p 44 ). The concept seeks to explain physical phenomena that can't be reduced to the current pillars of physics: relativity, quantum physics and thermodynamics. This …
22 June 2022
From Talia Morris, Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia
You report that "Jackdaws 'vote' on mass exodus" before taking flight together ( 28 May, p 23 ). At Cape Tribulation Tropical Research Station, my colleagues and I believe we have seen similar vocal behaviour in spectacled flying foxes ( Pteropus conspicillatus ). For several hours before a colony-wide relocation, there is a massive increase …
22 June 2022
From Peter Hawes, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
You recently reported on insect decline as measured by bug splats on cars ( 14 May, p 23 ). I have ridden motorcycles for 61 years. During that period, bug splats on screens and helmet visors have declined considerably. I always had to carry visor cleaning equipment, with which I regularly removed the remains of …
29 June 2022
From John Andreae, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Your article "A breakthrough moment for AI?" is yet another showing that deep learning is producing amazing examples of intelligence, but it is on the wrong track for an artificial general intelligence (AGI) ( 28 May, p 16 ). Computer scientist Melanie Mitchell, among others, has pointed out that an AGI must have an education …
29 June 2022
From Sam Edge, Ringwood, Hampshire, UK
It occurs to me that artificial biospheres such as MELiSSA are flawed, in that they are too fragile because they are too simple ( 4 June, p 27 ). If my life were at stake, I would be much happier if a single point of failure couldn't spell doom for the whole system. This would …
29 June 2022
From Robert Checchio, Dunellen, New Jersey, US
Researchers Erik Hoel and Renzo Comolatti may be correct in asserting that causality is found at a higher level than the quantum, but the real trick might be in determining how large an area you should search to find the true cause of a particular effect ( 28 May, p 44 ). To continue the …
29 June 2022
From Judith Graham, Millbrook, Ontario, Canada
Any claim that the issue of free will is addressed by causality emerging at levels above quantum mechanics makes no sense. Just moving causality from one level to another doesn't change the observation that if there is causality, there is predestination. As noted in the article, adding randomness to the system from which causes emerge …
29 June 2022
From Geoff Harding, Sydney, Australia
Maria Rossini writes about the subject of women in STEM ( 21 May, p 27 ). After a gender imbalance develops at the high school, undergraduate or postgraduate level, it can be self perpetuating because girls and women might not enjoy studying and working in male-dominated environments, where social and academic support may be lacking. …
29 June 2022
From David Muir, Edinburgh, UK
You report the UK government is introducing a talent visa to lure graduates from top universities into the country ( 4 June, p 15 ). I was worried to read that anyone studying at a university in Africa, Central or South America or South Asia wouldn't be considered eligible for this visa. The Home Office …
29 June 2022
From Simon Goodman, Griesheim, Germany
As much as we, your readers, relish your impartial internationalism, I for one am peeved by the use of a particular unit of measurement – the "Statue of Liberty" – in your look at space start-up SpinLaunch ( 4 June, p 12 ). Is this more or less than a Nelson's Column, an Eiffel Tower, …
