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16 September 2020
From Robert Willis, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Amid the pandemic, you posit reasons why remote working didn't take off sooner, despite the urgings of experts like Peter Drucker ( 15 August, p 32 ). In all the discussions, you missed the most obvious and – based on my studies – probably the most influential reason: loss of power by supervising management. There …
16 September 2020
From David Edwards Hulme, Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK
The "Star Tugs" envisioned by Yale University's Alexander Svoronos as a form of engineering by aliens have generated quite the reaction among readers such as Chris Eve ( Letters, 15 August ). Yet imagining that an advanced civilisation would devise a means of moving a star system out of the way of trouble falls into …
23 September 2020
From Rachael Padman, Cambridge, UK
In "Welcome to the fuzzy-verse", philosopher Eddy Keming Chen misstates the relationship of physics and mathematics ( 5 September, p 36 ). The universe is what it is, and the fundamental laws of physics are really just expressions of the patterns we observe there – they don't explain anything. What they can do is help …
23 September 2020
From John Crook, Napier, New Zealand
I was inspired by Graham Lawton's description of Rob Jackson's plea to restore the atmosphere to its pre-industrial state ( 22 August, p 24 ). We absolutely must do this. Any plan or course of action that falls short of full reinstatement to pre-industrial conditions, with the associated thermal equilibrium of the planet that is …
23 September 2020
From Terry Cannon, Lewes, East Sussex, UK
In his look at the benefits of "social capital", inspired by the pandemic lockdown, David Robson argues that "in recent decades, a raft of research has shown that individuals with richer social worlds tend to have better mental well-being and lower stress, and to perform better at work" ( 15 August, p 32 ). Does …
23 September 2020
From Jonathan Watson, London, UK
Could there be an alternative to a coronavirus vaccine to achieve herd immunity if we could come up with a test to predict who would be asymptomatic? Many people would probably fall into this category ( 5 September, p 7 ). They might have something in common other than their underlying good health that could …
23 September 2020
From Ed Prior, Poquoson, Virginia, US
You report on an analysis that found voting by mail would have little effect on US election results ( 5 September, p 20 ). It seems to assume that Democrats and Republicans would vote by post in similar numbers. In fact, a recent poll indicates that a significantly higher proportion of those who support the …
23 September 2020
From Tim Stevenson, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, UK
All strength to Stuart Richie in his crusade against the perverse motivations that lead to the publication of junk science, but an article or a book won't rid us of this problem ( 22 August, p 36 ). It will take money. What might work would be for some considerably rich business leader to set …
23 September 2020
From Alexander Pettigrew, Newquay, Cornwall, UK
As a long-time yachtsman, I found your article on motion sickness very interesting ( 22 August, p 47 ). It reminded me of an age-old question among sailors: if you think you might become seasick, what is the best thing to eat? The answer is peaches and cream, because they taste just as good on …
23 September 2020
From David Eadsforth, Alresford, Hampshire, UK
When contemplating a rough boat ride or some aerobatics, many people will instinctively opt to eat nothing beforehand, fearing motion sickness. Instead, they could try a remedy adopted by me and a number of friends decades ago: scoff a couple of large, sugary doughnuts about an hour before the activity. It works wonders.
