New Scientist - USA (2013-06-08)

8 June 2013 | NewScientist | 31

Communications, doi.org/mpm).

If they prove that matter and

antimatter repulse each other,

then we may finally have a

plausible explanation for the

accelerated expansion of our

universe that doesn’t actually

require dark energy.

Akersloot, The Netherlands

From Paul Baron

Stephen Battersby said that one

thing we know about dark energy

is that it “pushes” (11 May, p 32).

But couldn’t it simply be that

dark energy is the result of an

attractive force acting on our

observable universe?

Auckland, New Zealand

Smart money

From Roger Taylor

In his letter on corporate

responsibility, Ian Hill asks: “what

qualifications... do the people at

the top have?” (18 May, p 29).

The main one is cleverness. In the

financial sector, unfortunately, it

is the kind of cleverness that gives

it a bad name, having been used

to con the rest of us into believing

that moving our money about

is both profoundly important

and worthy of absurd rewards.

Like astrologers, they think

the future is foreseeable, and

like alchemists, they search for

a philosopher’s stone – ever more

complex software – that will turn

the leaden present into a golden

future. Clever indeed to finagle

us all with two dead “sciences”.

Wirral, Merseyside, UK

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For the record

n Our look at attempts to put a figure

on potential sea level rise due to

climate change (25 May, p 26) should

have said there is less than a 1 in 20

chance that the melting of ice sheets

will contribute more than 84

centimetres to sea level rise by 2100.

n Leap Motion’s box that can

track ultra-fine hand and finger

movements will cost $80, not $70

as we reported (25 May, p 40).

Paranoid android?

From John Hobson

One thing I felt was missing from

your look at consciousness was

the role of emotion and empathy

(18 May, p 30). A “zombie” eats

when it is hungry and puts on

extra clothes when it is cold, but

it is not aware. A human is happy

after eating and knows that when

hungry in the future, eating is

likely to bring happiness. This

leads to planning, one of the

functions of consciousness.

What’s more, a human also

knows that others are likely

to do what makes them feel

happy. Empathy is an extremely

important part of consciousness,

and there can be no empathy

without emotion.

Consciousness is unlikely to

develop in isolation – why would

it? It has developed to enable

us to interact with others. So it

is unlikely we will ever make a

conscious machine without

including emotion.

Devizes, Wiltshire, UK

Torture ray

From Les Hearn

The point about the Active Denial

“pain ray” weapon, which, when

fired causes pain in the victim

without leaving a mark, is that

it is not designed to subdue, as

claimed in your article (11 May,

p 44). In this it differs from tasers,

water cannon and projectiles.

Potential victims would do

anything to avoid the pain, which

in crowded situations could lead

to injury in others fighting to

get away, or even a stampede.

Similarly, if fired at close quarters,

the wielder of the weapon

would be at risk from defensive

violence, rendering its use in

prison disturbances unwise.

If, however, one was going to

design the perfect method of

torture, this would come close.

The psychological damage

would be greatly compounded

by the complete lack of physical

evidence. Survivors would be

unable to successfully seek

asylum in countries where even

gross physical signs are often

discounted as self-inflicted.

If these weapons become

available they will inevitably

be used to torture, which is why

they must not be made.

London, UK

Sign this way

From Clive Neal-Sturgess,

professor of clinical biomechanics,

University of Birmingham

Your article on gestural control of

computers talks about a number

of possible systems (25 May, p 40),

but sign language is not

mentioned. Surely this is well

recognised and, if adopted, could

be a useful extra communication

tool for deaf people.

Alcester, Warwickshire, UK

I’ll think about it

From Leslie Want

We have been told that when a

person imagines they are playing

tennis, the parts of the brain

associated with actually playing

the game “light up”. We are also

told that when a person makes

a decision, the part of the brain

associated with the decision

“lights up” before the person is

conscious of making the decision

(18 May, p 37).

Surely this is to be expected?

An important part of the decision-

making process is to mentally

rehearse the consequences. Thus

the part of the brain involved is

active before the decision is made.

Are we not observing the decision-

making process rather than the

actual decision?

Swansea, UK

Cosmic verse

From Tim Boardman

I was interested in your editorial

extolling the poetic lament for

NASA’s Kepler satellite (25 May,

p 3). Another scientist who turned

to poetry is the 18th-century

polymath Erasmus Darwin,

member of the Birmingham

Lunar Society and Charles’s

grandfather, after whom my

place of work – Erasmus Darwin

Academy – is named.

Among other topics, his

verses feature a proto-theory of

evolution, which doubtless would

have influenced his grandson.

Even more prescient was his

suggestion of something not

unlike the big bang theory (albeit

preceded by a big crunch) in his

short poem To the Stars.

Stafford, UK

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