Letters archive

Laura Spinney's interesting article on the role of the wider body in consciousness is a reminder of the degree to which Cartesian ideas of the mind as separate from the body still haunt cognitive psychology ( 27 June, p 28 ). Seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, sensing and being conscious are all attributes of the whole …

You show that consciousness depends on feedback from the body's organs, and that this is an essential part of our sense of who we are. The article finishes by suggesting that a robot with no way of integrating signals from its body will never be truly conscious – but robots already have feedback from their …

While New Zealand may claim some credit for the relatively early closure of its borders, it was still too slow ( 27 June, p 11 ). Nearly a month passed between the country's first known infection and lockdown. That isn't good enough. Scientists had been warning of a covid-type pandemic for more than a decade. …

You report that Scotland could eliminate the coronavirus if it weren't for England ( 4 July, p 8 ). There are many reasons why the experience of covid-19 has differed regionally in the UK. To take just one example, overcrowding has been shown to be a big issue. Scotland has the lowest population density of …

It would be satisfying to be able to dismiss the idea that we are living in a simulation, as earlier letters have, using the argument that it would require unfeasible amounts of energy to run ( Letters, 4 July ). Yet I am not entirely convinced. If our reality is a simulation, then the laws …

The energy-related arguments that we don't live in a simulation created by an advanced civilisation hold true if the simulating entities are also in a three-dimensional existence. However, what about higher dimensions? Up to 10 are postulated under superstring theory, for instance. Denizens of higher dimensions could be free of the energy constraints we face, …

You describe a Stone Age man buried in Ireland whose parents were either siblings or parent and child, and hypothesise that this might indicate the social sanctioning of incestuous marriages in this community ( 27 June, p 18 ). Isn't it far more likely, if somewhat sadder, that this man's mother experienced sexual abuse by …

Michael Assuras suggests that hurricanes could be stopped by injecting cool air from an aircraft ( Letters, 4 July ). When I was studying thunderstorm electrification, I was lucky enough to spend time at New Mexico Tech, where the institution's president – astrophysicist Stirling Colgate – talked to me about hurricane suppression. Hurricanes gain energy …

I have watched the pursuit of fusion power for more than 50 years ( 13 June, p 30 ). However, the current approach begs a question. Half the world's population is funding one giant fusion experiment – ITER – that was designed decades ago. It relies on just one proposed fuel and is projected to …

Congratulations on New Scientist winning Consumer Magazine Brand of the Year at the Professional Publishers Association awards. I remember, while still at school, reading the issue in 1957 that had Sputnik on the cover printed on a blue ink background. Since then, I have read many issues, often for free after persuading physics students to …