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2 May 2018
From Rachael Padman, Cambridge, UK
Trevor Hussey warns scientists that methods change, which is undeniable (Letters, 14 April ). But he suggests we need to discuss with philosophers not only methods, but also our objectives. Isn't this putting the cart before the horse? The philosopher David Hume understood philosophy as the inductive, experimental science of human nature . This can …
2 May 2018
"... says the builder who accidentally hit the solar panel with a hammer" Heather Tweed responds to the news that poking tiny dents into solar panels makes them work better ( 28 April, p 9 )
2 May 2018
From Carl Zetie, Raleigh, North Carolina, US
You report researchers finding that the species of ostracod crustaceans with the largest differences between the sexes were also the most vulnerable to extinction ( 21 April, p 9 ). They speculate that the cause may be related to devoting resources to sexual display at the cost of other survival functions, much like the peacock's …
2 May 2018
From Liz Bell, Great Shefford, Berkshire, UK
I quite agree with the boycott signatories demanding that autonomous weapons lacking meaningful human control shouldn't be developed (14 April, p 24). But the overwhelming issue with guns is leaving them unmonitored in the hands of humans who can't be trusted to behave reasonably and rationally. History is littered with war and other crimes, not …
2 May 2018
From Alec Cawley, Penwood, Berkshire, UK
Timothy Revell suggests that watchdogs could go through the code of an artificial intelligence "line by line" to understand the decisions it makes ( 14 April, p 40 ). But it isn't the code that matters: it is the data set on which the code is trained. A classic example is the automatic tap which, …
2 May 2018
From Adrian Bowyer, Foxham, Wiltshire, UK
Timothy Revell's discussion of the need for transparency in computer systems that decide whether or not you get a loan, or how long you will spend in jail, was most welcome. But can we stop calling them "algorithms"? An algorithm, such as the rules for long multiplication, is precise. All the systems that the article …
2 May 2018
From Geoff Russell, St Morris, South Australia
Garry Trethewey seems to think that renewable energy sources weren't behind South Australia's state-wide blackout in 2016 (Letters, 7 April ). As the final report of the Australian Energy Market Operator sets out, there were two issues. Why did 450 megawatts of generating capacity drop out? This was connected with over-sensitive safety settings on wind …
2 May 2018
From Paul Whiteley, Bittaford, Devon, UK
Making tools from stools is neat ( 14 April, p 15 ). But it's not new. In his autobiography , the Danish explorer Peter Freuchen writes about the time he took shelter from a blizzard under his sledge in Greenland and realised the snow that had drifted over him had frozen, entombing him. He couldn't …
9 May 2018
From David Holdsworth, Settle, North Yorkshire, UK
Anthony Warner extols the virtues of statins and argues that they should routinely be taken to reduce cardiovascular disease, which kills one in three globally ( 21 April, p 24 ) . But the longer we live, the more likely we are to get cancer. Anyone who loves science and rationality will thus deduce that …
9 May 2018
From Sally Stokes, Silver Spring, Maryland, US
I realise that Warner's article is labelled "Comment" and does not purport to enlighten us on recent research, and that as a blogger and author he is entitled to his opinion about fad diets and antivaxxers. But his sweeping remarks about those who may have an "anti-statin point of view" are infuriating, not so much …
