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Your special issue on quantum frontiers alludes to the question of whether an observer is necessary for a wave function to collapse ( 28 August, p 34 ). Some people think this implies a conscious, human observer. However, this leads inevitably to the paradoxical conclusion that if it were true, we couldn't exist. Almost all …

Annalee Newitz's thought-provoking article suggests that the way we considered coins 2500 years ago is similar to how we regard computers today, and that our thinking about them will inevitably change as we add more levels of abstraction ( 4 September, p 18 ). Interestingly, many modern theories of mind compare consciousness to computers – …

Based on direct (personal and observational) experience, I have to question the idea that spite has any upside ( 4 September, p 40 ). If acting with spite pays off in competition, then you end up with more spiteful people in power. Since acting out of spite helped them get ahead, many may continue to …

Jeff Hecht notes the visual problems that self-driving cars have with identifying missing lane indicators, obscured road signs and so on ( 31 July, p 45 ). But there is another important set of warnings that isn't mentioned: audible signals like train whistles and sirens. These give clues about potential conflicts that a visually oriented …

The article "A day in a net-zero life" provides a vision of the future, but didn't get into the transformation of economies and our own behaviour that will be required to reach this utopia ( 4 September, p 34 ). In my opinion, the only hope of achieving this is through legal restrictions on our …

With great pleasure, I can report to being at one with Richard Webb's piece, "At one with nature". Unlike Webb, however, and to the ongoing dismay of my family, I still don't possess a smartphone (or any portable communications device) ( 28 August, p 44 ). This is despite strenuous efforts on their part to …

I was intrigued by a suggestion in your look at net-zero living from Hayden Wood at UK green energy firm Bulb ( 4 September, p 34 ). He said "it makes no sense to have gigawatts of battery capacity in people's cars not being used to help balance the grid". Actually, it does. We are …

E-bikes deserve a mention in our net-zero future. They broke through at least 10 years ago with the advent of cheaper lithium batteries and novel motors. Their chargers are fitted with standard household plugs. Their embodied and per-kilometre carbon output – and unit price – are a tiny fraction of an electric car's. In his …

If we take the handling of the covid-19 pandemic as a template for how we get to a net-zero world, we can imagine leaders addressing the emergency belatedly with uncoordinated, chaotic, inhumane and often cynical measures.

While the actions of spiteful people may result in head-shaking disapproval, the need for the assertiveness that might be driven by spite has been explored before ( 4 September, p 40 ). In "The Enemy Within", an episode of Star Trek , while beaming up from planet Alpha 177, a transporter accident splits Captain Kirk …