Selective view
David Sloan Wilson’s group-selection overview (Instant Expert, 6 August) points out the connection between the dominant individualistic trend in sociobiology for the past five decades and self-oriented western socio-economic thought.
He could also have mentioned that rebellious minorities, often Marxist, put forward vigorous arguments against such reductionism in all the sciences, as well as philosophy. Thankfully, in the recent drawn-out crises of capitalism, what is harder to make is a possible connection between the current refrain that “we are all in this together” and the new, more group-oriented consensus in sociobiology as, rather than any ideas of natural empathy, we see an emphasis on the more coercive foundations of social cooperation coming from our politicians.
We need to watch that this in turn does not start to infuse our theoretical understanding of social behaviour.
Psycho bots
In your exploration of a future in which artificial intelligence takes over (23 July, p 40) it was suggested “the best case scenario would be that AIs provide a ‘human reserve’ for those who want to stay as they are”.
That would be nice, but would AIs be motivated to do so? Such benevolence would require not only artificial intelligence, but also artificial empathy.
Intelligence and consciousness may be emergent properties when a data-processing system becomes complex enough, but empathy does not automatically follow. It is the sum of intelligence and emotion. The latter requires some apparatus of its own, such as the insular cortex. It also seems likely that in humans and cognitively advanced animals, mirror neurons play a part.
In AI literature there seems to be little discussion of how to build something like our feelings of compassion. Instead, the only approach seems to be rigid rules, such as the “Three Laws of Robotics” by Isaac Asimov, one of which forbids harming humans.
It is difficult to predict how long such rules would last after AIs had taken their development and reproduction into their own hands. The AIs governing the future world would effectively be artificial psychopaths.
Mathematics rules
In popular literature written by pedlars of postmodern nonsense, Austrian logician Kurt G枚del is often said to have destroyed mathematical certainty with his incompleteness theorems 鈥� which say there will always be statements about sets or numbers that mathematics can neither verify nor disprove.
As Richard Elwes points out in “Ultimate logic” (30 July, p 30), this view is wrong. If Hugh Woodin settles, as true or false, the continuum hypothesis, which suggests there is no intermediate level between the countable infinity of integers and the infinite continuum of real numbers, that in itself will be a pleasing vindication of G枚del, who wrote . If Woodin can find a framework for overcoming incompleteness generally, he will have delivered one of the most spectacular intellectual achievements of all time.
G枚del’s theorems will still hold. Mathematical proofs will survive intact, while the fog that beleaguers set theory will suddenly become considerably less dense. Either way, mainstream mathematics will emerge not only unscathed, but stronger than ever.
All of which goes to highlight the annoying incongruity between Elwes’s excellent article and the words on your cover: “So powerful it could wipe out mathematics as we know it”. Quite the opposite, I think.
Brain drained
My childhood in South Africa meant that your interview with the country’s science minister, Naledi Pandor (16 July, p 25), was of particular interest.
Pandor’s “brain drain” sentiments echo those of my relatives still in South Africa, who have been concerned about this for years. The term is used in various professions. However, family members who are medics and researchers feel that progress is being made, and that new measures appear to be creating a more promising future.
My parents made the difficult decision to move to a developed western country, predicting brighter prospects for me and my siblings, but I wonder whether it is necessary to live in a developed country for improved career opportunities.
Only time will tell, but if the next Einstein comes from Africa that will be refreshing.
Smokescreen
There are technical as well as political risks associated with geoengineering approaches to limit the impact of climate change (6 August, p 3).
If research shows that predicted temperature rises could be limited by geoengineering, it is likely there will be pressure to go ahead, with a corresponding reduction in pressure to limit emissions. This may be successful in the short term, but stronger and stronger geoengineering will be needed if emissions continue to grow.
Life on Earth will become dependent on the continued effectiveness of increasingly potent human interventions.
The only acceptable use for geoengineering would be to buy time while we try to cut emissions, not as an alternative to emissions control.
Farming vs foraging
Economist Samuel Bowles’s study of the calorific costs of early ways of producing food (30 July, p 26) adds a valuable extra dimension to the debate on the emergence of agriculture.
The decrease in physical stature and health in the transition from hunter-gathering to agriculture is well documented, so we must believe it. But present-day evidence contradicts it: compare Indigenous Australians, who were until recently Stone Age-style hunter-gatherers, with nearby Papua New Guinea highlanders, who are still Stone Age-style agriculturists, albeit now with metal tools. The latter have a more powerful build and healthier appearance.
There are other factors that affect the survival prospects of the two groups, though. Agriculturists typically store food; hunter-gatherers do not. So even if their diet and health is worse, the agriculturists are better able to survive bad times.
Another factor is the carrying capacity of the land. Agriculture can support more people per hectare, so in the end greater population density may make it the only option.
Imperial confusion
In “Mighty rover” (6 August, p 26), NASA’s Class 10,000 conditions for rover assembly were described as containing “fewer than 10,000 particles of 0.5 micrometres or larger… in every cubic foot of air”.
Has the loss of its Mars orbiter in 1999 taught NASA nothing about mixing metric and imperial units?
Turn of the worm
I was intrigued by the use of helminthic parasites to treat autoimmune diseases (6 August, p 6), as some years ago I was infected with hookworm in Vietnam. I was quite ill and treated in hospital on my return to the UK.
I have mild asthma which, while not too bad, is noticeable. For about a year after my “worming” I did not need asthma medication at all. My story is anecdotal I know, but it was an effect I noticed and appreciated, and one which deserves further investigation.
The editor writes:
鈥� There is evidence that helminthic infection, particularly with hookworm, can alleviate asthma. However, some helminths pass through the lungs on the way to the gut and can temporarily worsen asthma or trigger attacks. Roundworm has been found to worsen the condition, for example. The impact of helminths on immune disorders of the respiratory tract is less well studied than on those of the intestines, though.
Reasons to hack
Alan Hewer’s letter suggests that unlike hackers targeting big companies, no one would be sympathetic to a “burglar claiming to have only broken into your house to point out the inadequacy of your locks” (30 July, p 29).
This stands to reason only if one also accepts the inadequacy of Hewer’s analogy. To remedy this, the owner of the house would have to be charged with looking after the address details and house keys of millions of others around the world. What’s more, instead of using those keys to burgle others, the burglar should reveal his actions to embarrass the house owner into improving their security.
The house owner may not be happy, but their customers certainly should be.
Hot idea?
The engineering ideas for cooling subways, particularly the London Underground, did not address the impact of the late afternoon rush hour, when temperatures peak (6 August, p 38).
I suggest a modified train sent to the hottest station carrying coolant 鈥� tanks of compressed air at about 20 megapascals. The expansion of this air would cool the surroundings and displace hot air from the station.
Technology for transporting compressed gas in lightweight containers is viable. The containers could be charged by compressors at a suburban depot at night using cheaper electricity. The heat of compression could be removed by cooling with water.
Wright stuff
As a postscript to Richard Fisher’s discussion of the perils of too much knowledge (30 July, p 39), it was said of the Wright brothers that they achieved heavier-than-air flight because they had not been to university, and so did not know that it could not be done.