Letters archive

You report that prehistoric hand stencils on cave walls with various digits missing could represent a sign language. I am a computer scientist, not a linguist, so I have a different take on the matter( 18 March, p 38 ). It looks to me like the 10 different hand signs (out of a possible 32) …

The cave stencils look like tic-tac hand signals used by bookmakers to communicate betting odds at race courses to me. Perhaps they were valuable when out hunting. My granddaughter learned sign language before she could talk, and the recent television series Chris Packham's Animal Einsteins showed hand gestures that were identical among chimps, bonobos and …

I greatly welcomed Richard Fisher's article on far-sighted thinking for its clear explanation of why most governments of high-income countries have failed to tackle climate change, and also for its pointers on how to adopt a long-term mindset( 25 March, p 46 ).

Chris Packham's article should be applauded for its clear statement of the obvious: a need to achieve a sustainable human population in balance with the available renewable resources( 25 March, p 27 ). The problem is that he, like most commentators, provides no advice on how this can actually be achieved on the scale or …

Thank you for the guide to the mysteries of the quantum realm( 8 April, p 36 ). The chef at my local garden centre restaurant and I often deliberate on such matters across the counter, and last week we were discussing the relationship between quantum uncertainty and the basis of free will. The next server …

Many thanks for the really clear guide to the quantum world. It was helpful to see all the key aspects and relationships together. Despite being a regular reader, some things were new to me, such as that gluons travel at the speed of light. The section on how forces work was also very useful. Plus, …

A sustainable population without overconsumption has been advocated for decades, but with minimal effect. With significant pressure now exerted through the IPCC and environmentalists to change destructive lifestyles and industries, there is a chance that warnings may finally take effect. Tragically, it is likely that few people in high-income countries over 40, with set lifestyles …

I question the UK government pushing for us to ditch modern gas boilers to heat homes before the power system is truly green. The efficiency of my gas boiler is about 95 per cent, whereas if I use grid electricity to heat my home, the efficiency of a gas turbine to generate it is around …

The claim that hand stencils in Gargas cave, France, show a sign language is very unlikely – there is a more plausible explanation( 18 March p 38 ). One of the illustrations includes the anatomically tricky gesture of an extended little finger and an extended adjacent ring finger, while the next two fingers are folded …

The jury is still out concerning the meaning of the ancient hand stencils with missing or stunted fingers found in caves. I would like to suggest a new interpretation. Previously, it has been shown that cave art is usually located in the most resonant parts of the cave. Could these stencils be an early form …