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4 December 2019
From Adrian Bowyer, Foxham, Wiltshire, UK
Annalee Newitz is right that the real problem with fake and lying political advertisements isn't that Facebook and others promulgate them, but that they allow them to be micro-targeted, thereby avoiding detection by the rest of us, and by journalists in particular ( 16 November, p 24 ). If it wanted to, Facebook could easily …
4 December 2019
From Michael Phillips, New York, US
Michael Le Page reports genetic engineering of plants using a spray-on mix of carbon dots and DNA coding for a CRISPR system ( 9 November, p 7 ). This could be hazardous to humans. Like many nanoparticles, carbon dots easily penetrate the skin, and they are increasingly used for drug delivery. A human exposed to …
4 December 2019
From Ben Haller, Ithaca, New York, US
Graham Lawton claims that a type of simulation called multi-agent artificial intelligence is about to upend the world with "highly detailed" simulations of "entire artificial societies" with "extraordinary accuracy" ( 5 October, p 38 ). For argument's sake, let's grant that we can construct such simulations – even though we cannot yet simulate even a …
4 December 2019
From Ed Subitzky, New York, US
Michael Graziano asks how the brain, a material thing, produces what are called qualia – the redness of a rose, the stabbing of a pain, the aroma of brewing coffee ( 21 September, p 34 ). As basically a materialist, I am forced to be quite puzzled by qualia. There are two implications in the …
4 December 2019
From Derek Bolton, Sydney, Australia
To me, consciousness means that narrative that runs in my head, like a film with added senses. Graziano appears at first to take the same view , but then conflates it with concepts that probably belong to a "lower" layer. A key fact about this narrative, as found by Benjamin Libet, is that it runs …
4 December 2019
From Max Starkey, Avignon, France
Peter White argues that some people without language can think (Letters, 7 September ) and David Werdegar insists that thought does depend on language (Letters, 26 October ). That exchange on the subject reminded me, being bilingual, of questions I am often asked: "in which language do you think" and "in which language do you …
4 December 2019
From Frank Siegrist, Gland, Switzerland
People with a severe form of aphasia may not identify a spoon as a means of transporting food, and therefore require help with feeding, writes David Werdegar . He concludes that thought depends on language. I am always surprised how easily my dog identifies the hatch at the back of any car, even of a …
4 December 2019
From Terry Klumpp, Melbourne, Australia
I write this letter in a state of hypnosis ( 9 November, p 34 ). Now I'm going deeper still, repeating, as you suggest, an "affirmation" that helps me achieve my desired outcome. "This letter will be published. This letter will be..."
4 December 2019
From Kris Ericksen, Wellington, New Zealand
Helen Thomson describes the potential of self-hypnosis. What is the difference between this and mindfulness meditation? They seem, to me, to involve exactly the same processes. The editor writes: There are certainly many parallels between the two and there is likely to be shared neurobiology. For many people, the states of mind are very similar. …
4 December 2019
• Meat and dairy production accounts for 85 per cent of the UK's total agricultural footprint, in the UK and elsewhere ( 26 October, p 24 ). • When Scottish greyface ewes are injected with male levels of testosterone, it is their daughters that show the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome ( 23 November, p …
