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The article about otroverts, a new personality type, really resonated with me. Growing up, I also felt pressured to join the Scouts, but I never wanted to and my parents respected that( 16 August, p 19 ). It was clear to me from a very young age that I didn't quite belong and that I …

Kaminski claims we are all "born otroverts". How does this fit with the common observation that babies interact and form bonds with others from a young age?

There is a major problem for a spacecraft travelling at relativistic speeds, as suggested in the proposal for a mission to a black hole: damage by particles in space( 16 August, p 13 ). At such speeds, any particle that a craft collided with would be like an energetic cosmic ray particle carrying kinetic energy …

After suffering a bladder prolapse, I was told the importance of not straining on the loo, lest it happen again. Consequently, I researched the subject, bought a folding squat stool and included as much fibre as possible in my diet. The improvement has been huge( 9 August, p 38 ). Something of great importance that …

Leah Crane suggests donning a spacesuit in her look at the solar system. I did do this, but that was back in 1969 to re-enact the moon landings. In my collection of How and Why Wonder Books , there was a volume about the solar system. The final page described how the sun would expand …

Future biomedical research will probably provide years of better health in older age. However, to live long enough to enjoy this, young people must be encouraged to lead extremely healthy lifestyles. The obvious requirements are a healthy diet, minimal alcohol, no drugs of addiction and a consistent exercise and strength-maintenance programme. The brain should also …

The idea that our ancient ancestors raised wolf pups as pets and then harvested them makes perfect sense, an idea proposed as a route to eventual domestication( 9 August, p 34 ). Could our ancestors have also raised juvenile ungulates for the products they would yield as adults? I can easily picture a band of …

The ideas at the heart of On Natural Capital remind me of the relationship between externalities – the peripheral costs of producing goods not included in their price – and the economics of recycling( 2 August, p 27 ). My favourite example is plastics, which can be pyrolysed and turned back into alkanes that are …

It is a myth that public transport is the answer to traffic woes. Public transport doesn't go everywhere. It doesn't allow for the user's choice of time, route or travel companions, and the most flexible form of public transport, taxis, is also the most expensive, so public transport isn't necessarily accessible to everyone. It has …