Letters archive

De Lange's summary of consciousness studies could have been subtitled: "how to be conscious about thinking". Having a theory of mind –"I think that you think..." – is a well-understood concept applied to many social primates, including humans. Doesn't it also apply to our sense of self? If we hypothesise our thoughts and feelings in …

Roger Taylor suggests compiling a list of all the things that might be contributing to climate change (Letters, 25 June ). There is already such a list, and it also shows how to reduce emissions already in the atmosphere, with rankings, costs and benefits, in great detail. Paul Hawken's book Drawdown has a website at …

Your interview with Anna Remington mostly does a good job of describing the strengths as well as the difficulties associated with autism, and helps counteract the negativity of much writing about autism and autistic people ( 14 July, p 32 ). But I am bewildered by the idea that it is the result of too …

Penny Sarchet discusses whether life may have originated in an ocean vent, a hot spring or a geothermal field ( 16 June, p 30 ). What about clay that consists of stacked, charged sheets? The distance between these varies with the amount of water and dissolved ions present, and they can separate completely in brine. …

Your interview with Regina Barzilay on her work using artificial intelligence to detect cancer was both interesting and encouraging ( 21 July, p 42 ). When a friend went for a mammogram, it was inspected by a surgeon, who thought it was clear, and by two other members of staff, one of whom was not …

Clare Wilson reports that low levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine are associated with risk-taking ( 21 July, p 10 ). From what I read about risk-taking research, it seems that most is based on money or gambling decisions. This may not be a good choice for behaviour sampling. I, for instance, have been a skydiver, …

You say that the number of people diagnosed with autism has been climbing, leading to claims of an environmental cause, but that the increase is probably down to an expansion in the definition of autism and greater awareness ( 14 July, p 32 ). I'm sure this is true, but I still wonder about another …

I was very disappointed to read Stephen Harris's claims that the work of the "cat killer" in London could all be explained by foxes and road traffic ( 21 July, p 26 ). As someone who has seen the work of all three, I can assure him that it is not that simple. I was …

Fred Pearce observes that hydroelectric dams have fallen out of favour with many environmentalists in recent years ( 23 June, p 36 ). This is partly because they drown habitats, which increases greenhouse gas emissions. They also take up land that could be put to other use. Global warming is causing glaciers to retreat. The …

Colin Barras seems somewhat surprised that primates, including our ancestors, "stumble into the Stone Age by chance" ( 7 July, p 10 ). How else might a species realise the usefulness of stone tools other than by trial and error? Or is he thinking that this cultural leap normally requires the presence of a large, …