Letters archive

You report the hunt for possible black holes that predate the big bang, which could be evidence for repeated big bangs and a type of cyclical universe. Perhaps our own big bang is just one of many in a larger cosmos, but has been particularly successful in balancing inflation and gravitational collapse, expanding for so …

Thomas Hertog recalls his and Stephen Hawking's subtle explanation for why physical laws and parameters are "just right for life", positing that they initially varied randomly over time. There is, however, a simpler explanation: that physics varies randomly over space. To be sure, the variations must be gradual over enormous distances. But in a sufficiently …

I am unconvinced that biscuits and cakes made with a 2:1 ratio of sugar to fat are naturally "irresistible". For years, we have made cakes at home using half or less than half the sugar recommended by standard recipes. Other flavours aren't overpowered and the resulting taste is more complex and interesting. Shop-bought cakes now …

Your article asks: are chatbots really able to think like people? I think not. Not as long as they don't feel fear, pride or anger. What we would need for that aren't electronic computers, but chemical ones( 1 April, p 10 ). Juxtaposed to this was an article reporting that the global population could reach …

"I would put it in my bathroom if I were tiling it right now," says Colin Adams of the aperiodic "einstein" tile that has just been discovered( 1 April, p 20 ). Sure, if he can find a factory to make both the tile and its mirror image. The tiling pattern needs both. Real bathroom …

Your recent analysis of the UK government's Carbon Budget Delivery Plan highlights what I feel is a worrying trend in our discussions about climate change( 8 April, p 11 ). As our attempts to decarbonise lag ever further behind our goals that aim to prevent the more severe consequences of a warming world, talk is …

It isn't just AIs that have difficulty drawing hands. My great-grandfather, as an aspiring sculptor, was only admitted to classes in drawing at the Royal Academy in the UK after he had submitted his drawings of hands. This subject was considered to be a test of talent( 15 April, p 16 ).

To add to your pointers on growing and using asparagus, Harold McGee, in his book On Food and Cooking , noted that it consumes its sugars faster than any other common vegetable, converting them to fibres from the base up. This process is accelerated by warmth and light( 8 April, p 51 ). He recommends …

Among the comprehensive range of pollutants in your excellent piece on the state of British rivers is sewage, resulting from drains being overwhelmed by heavy rain( 25 March, p 42 (UK edition) ). The spills are discharged from dual-purpose sewage systems that can carry both waste and run-off from rainfall . There will continue to …

A simple way to encourage far-sighted thinking would be to make it mandatory for every school-leaver to plant a tree. This would root in our minds a sense of a future further down the line than the end of our short-termist noses( 25 March, p 46 ).