Scientific American - September 2018

(singke) #1
8 Scientific American, September 2018

LETTERS
[email protected]
ESTABLISHED 1845ESTABLISHED 1845

Subscriptions
For new subscriptions, renewals, gifts,
payments, and changes of address:
U.S. and Canada, 800-333-1199;
outside North America, 515-248-7684 or
ééé»3Z”r§Ü”Z ¡r͔ZD§»Z«¡
Submissions
To submit article proposals, follow the
guidelines at ééé»3Z”r§Ü”Z ¡r͔ZD§»Z«¡.
Click on “Contact Us.”
We cannot return and are not responsible
{«Í¡DÜr͔D›Òfr›”èrÍrfÜ««æÍ«}Zr»

Reprints
To order bulk reprints of articles
(minimum of 1,000 copies):
Reprint Department,
3Z”r§Ü”Z ¡r͔ZD§d
1 New York Plaza,
Suite 4500,
New York, NY
10004-1562;
212-451-8877;
[email protected].
For single copies of back issues: 800-333-1199.

Permissions
For permission to copy or reuse material:
0rÍ¡”ÒҔ«§ÒrμDÍÜ¡r§Üd3Z”r§Ü”Z
American, 1 New York Plaza, Suite 4500,
New York, NY 10004-1562; [email protected];
ééé»3Z”r§Ü”Z ¡r͔ZD§»Z«¡ØμrÍ¡”ÒҔ«§Ò.
Please allow three to six weeks for processing.
Advertising
ééé»3Z”r§Ü”Z ¡r͔ZD§»Z«¡ has electronic
contact information for sales representatives
of 3Z”r§Ü”Z ¡r͔ZD§”§D››Ír†”«§Ò«{
the U.S. and in other countries.

3Z”r§Ü”Z¡r͔ZD§d®%ré?«Íš0›DîDd3æ”Ürƒ€ððd%ré?«Íšd%?®ðððƒ“®€×ä«Írf”Ü«ÍÒNÒZ”D¡»Z«¡
"rÜÜrÍÒ¡DëOrrf”Ürf{«Í›r§†ÜD§fZ›D͔Üë»=rÍr†ÍrÜܐDÜérZD§§«ÜD§ÒérÍrDZ«§r»
«”§ܐrZ«§èrÍÒDܔ«§«§›”§ruè”Ò”ÜIY_[dj_ÒY7c[h_YWd«§DZrO««šD§f5é”ÜÜrÍ»

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

HOW TO CONTACT US

ART
ART DIRECTOR Jason Mischka
ART DIRECTOR, ONLINE Ryan Reid

SENIOR GRAPHICS EDITOR Jen Christiansen
ASSOCIATE GRAPHICS EDITOR Amanda Montañez

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Monica Bradley
ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Liz Tormes
COPY AND PRODUCTION
SENIOR COPY EDITORS $Ÿ`›Dy ̈
DïïD‘ ̈ŸDjD ́Ÿy ̈ Î3`› ̈y ́¹‡
COPY EDITOR Aaron Shattuck

MANAGING PRODUCTION EDITOR Richard Hunt
PREPRESS AND QUALITY MANAGER Silvia De Santis
DIGITAL
TECHNICAL LEAD Nicholas Sollecito SENIOR WEB PRODUCER Ian Kelly WEB PRODUCER Jessic a Ramirez

EDITORIAL David Biello, Lydia Denworth, W. Wayt Gibbs, Ferris Jabr, Anna Kuchment, Robin Lloyd,
Melinda Wenner Moyer, George Musser, Christie Nicholson, John Rennie, Ricki L. Rusting
ART Edward Bell, Bryan Christie, Lawrence R. Gendron, Nick Higgins

CONTRIBUTORS

MANAGING EDITOR Cur tis Brainard COPY DIRECTOR Maria- Christina Keller CREATIVE DIRECTOR Michael Mrak

EDITOR IN CHIEF AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Mariette DiChristina

EDITORIAL
CHIEF FEATURES EDITOR Seth Fletcher CHIEF NEWS EDITOR Dean Visser CHIEF OPINION EDITOR Michael D. Lemonick
FEATURES
SENIOR EDITOR, SUSTAINABILITY Mark Fischetti
SENIOR EDITOR, CHEMISTRY / POLICY / BIOLOGY Josh Fischman
SENIOR EDITOR, SPACE / PHYSICS Clara Moskowitz

SENIOR EDITOR, SCIENCE AND SOCIETY Madhusree Mukerjee
SENIOR EDITOR, TECHNOLOGY / MIND Jen Schwartz
SENIOR EDITOR, EVOLUTION / ECOLOGY Kate Wong
NEWS
SENIOR EDITOR, MIND / BRAIN Gary Stix
ASSOCIATE EDITOR, SPACE / PHYSICS Lee Billings
ASSOCIATE EDITOR, TECHNOLOGY Larry Greenemeier

ASSOCIATE EDITOR, BIOLOGY / MEDICINE Dina Fine Maron
ASSOCIATE EDITOR, SUSTAINABILITY Andrea Thompson
ASSISTANT EDITOR, NEWS Tanya Lewis
DIGITAL CONTENT
MANAGING MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Eliene Augenbraun
SENIOR EDITOR, MULTIMEDIA Steve Mirsky

ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Sunya Bhutta
COLLECTIONS EDITOR Andrea Gawrylewski

EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR Ericka Skirpan SENIOR SECRETARY Maya Harty

PRINT PRODUCTION
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION CONTROLLER C arl Cherebin
PRODUCTION CONTROLLER Madelyn Keyes-Milch

CONSUMER MARKETING
DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Marie Cummings
E-MAIL MARKETING MANAGER Chris Monello
MARKETING AND CUSTOMER SERVICE COORDINATOR Christine Kaelin

CORPORATE

ANCILLARY PRODUCTS
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Diane McGarvey
CUSTOM PUBLISHING EDITOR Lisa Pallatroni
RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS MANAGER Felicia Ruocco

PRESIDENT
Dean Sanderson
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Michael Florek
VICE PRESIDENT, COMMERCIAL Andrew Douglas
PUBLISHER AND VICE PRESIDENT Jeremy A. Abbate
MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
HEAD, MARKETING AND PRODUCT MANAGEMENT Richard Zinken
MARKETING DIRECTOR, INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT Jessica Cole
ONLINE MARKETING PRODUCT MANAGER Zoya Lysak
INTEGRATED MEDIA SALES
DIRECTOR, INTEGRATED MEDIA Jay Ber fas
DIRECTOR, INTEGRATED MEDIA Matt Bondlow
SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR, EXECUTIVE SERVICES May Jung

HEAD, COMMUNICATIONS, USA Rachel Scheer

pear when synthetic meat becomes eco-
nomically viable. Income inequality will
vanish as a problem when poverty is com-
pletely eradicated and everyone has abun-
dance. Not all moral issues are so readily
soluble, but many are, which is why sci-
ence and technology should be in the mor-
al philosopher’s toolkit.

OBJECTIVE MEMORY
In “Our Stuff, Ourselves,” Francine Russo
reports on research showing a connection
between low emotional security and great-
er attachment to inanimate objects, in-
cluding a 2015 study involving young chil-
dren and their favorite possession.
Russo does not describe the experi-
menters as having accounted for the feel-
ings or significance that the adult provid-
ers of those youngsters may have had to-
ward objects. As a child of the Depression,
I did not have as many possessions to at-
tach my affections to as children do today.
My relationship with my mom was clearly
established, and she did not seem to at-
tach a great deal of extramaternal mean-
ing to her gifts of time or kitchen tid-
bits. Things that gave meaning to my life
in those days were things more related to
a child’s developing skills than to posses-
sion: climbing trees, riding a trike, creat-
ing imaginary landscapes out of mud or
melting ice, singing songs, skipping rope.
Possessions still mean little to me. My fur-
niture is old and unfinished and serves
only the purposes for which it is used. 
I wish Russo’s article had considered
adult providers and the present-day cul-
ture they represent, which could have ex-
posed deeper issues than an individual
child’s mental equilibrium.
JUNE HARNER via e-mail


CLARIFICATION
“Our Planet, Ourselves,” by Mariette Di-
Christina [From the Editor], referred to
mosquitoes and the viruses they carry
spreading diseases such as malaria and
Rift Valley fever. And “Catching Fever,”
by Lois Parshley, noted that the expansion
of habitats of mosquitoes and other in-
sects has exposed new populations to vi-
ruses, as well as  that malaria is globally
on the rise.  To clarify, Rift Valley fever is
caused by a virus, and malaria is caused
by a parasite.
Free download pdf