Â鶹´«Ã½

The article "A daily dose of creativity" by Daisy Fancourt has a very appropriate subtitle including the phrase "benefits of creative expression". The article goes on to conflate creativity with art, at which I demur. As someone who has no artistic abilities at all (well, pretty much), in my youth, I wrote computer programs. These …

The question of whether we live in a simulation is of intellectual interest, but is ultimately irrelevant. Whether we live in the "real" universe or a simulation, we exist solely on account of its laws, and so we cannot ever leave. Communicating with any programmer, however (I imagine an acne-prone teenager with a universe simulator), …

One of the most common forms of simulation is a video game. The entities within that are bit patterns. What happens to the bit patterns has been programmed and all that can happen is only that which has been programmed. If we are in a simulation, remember that not only are we in it, but …

Wai Wong writes that painting roofs white is trivial in effect when it comes to reflecting the sun's energy back into space. While it is trivial, it is not nothing and is easy to accomplish. Winning strategies in sports are about accumulating small margins and improvements ( Letters, 27 December 2025 ). It is true …

Guy Cox isn't comparing apples with apples when it comes to the fuel efficiency of his diesel SUV. Diesel engines are inherently more thermodynamically efficient than petrol engines because the compression ratio is much higher, plus his old, original Minis would have used inefficient carburettors rather than modern fuel injection. Thus it's hardly surprising that …

The proper resolution of the conceptual puzzle raised by Loschmidt's demon is instructive. Imagine a glass sphere floating in space shattered by a bullet. To an observer seeing the fragments flying apart, it would be evident that they had come from the same locality at more or less the same time, but it would take …

In your leader article, you write that from "vaccine sceptics at the heart of the US government to the continued global paralysis when it comes to climate action, science has been under siege in 2025", and that those "who believe in rationality and evidence must continue to fight back against the encroaching darkness" ( 13/20 …

Your article "Lichens unleashed" paints a picture of lichens as complex symbiotic communities with the ability to survive in space and thus potentially undertake interplanetary travel ( 27 December, p 38 ). Has anyone considered they could, in fact, be intelligent and highly developed aliens – albeit on a microscopic scale – living peacefully on …

Your article "Satellites to provide sunshine on demand" reminded me of a similar proposal reported by Â鶹´«Ã½ in 1998. You kindly printed my letter at that time pointing out that many species of animal use the moon to determine the time to moult or spawn, or use it as a navigation aid when migrating, …

Sam Wong's "A ticklish question" states that "it is impossible to tickle yourself". But I disagree – under one specific circumstance. When sleeping, if I don't keep my twitchy fingers away from my torso, I will wake myself up with that "being tickled by someone else" feeling. I wonder if anyone else experiences this?