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You observe that the history of humanity is one of stupidity, denial and dawdling followed by heroic rearguard action (Leader, 13 October ). I read this on the day that the firm Cuadrilla was allowed by our wretched establishment to resume fracking. My thoughts turned to the point perhaps 30 or 40 years ago when …

As long as they don't have to deal with humans Ann Morgan reacts with grim realism to news that orangutans are exceptionally good at keeping their infants alive ( 3 November, p 8 )

Pascal Boyer highlights the idea that "wealth is a fixed-size pie" as an example of economic folklore ( 22 September, p 40 ). But the counterposition to which most economists subscribe – that greater inequality is a price worth paying for most people being generally better off – is no more based in fact. The …

Pascal Boyer says economics is "not an exact science". The study and practice of economics is not science at all. No notion espoused by an economist of whatever leaning has had any greater predictive power than a chimp trying to choose a winning horse at the Grand National. The fact that most economic "theories" assume …

Sofia Deleniv discusses challenges to the notion that self-awareness is a higher form of consciousness ( 8 September, p 28 ). It seems to me that it is merely a result of having a multicellular body. Consider an early animal with chemical, optical and mechanical sensor cells spread around its simple body. It already needs …

The idea of regular fasting to make you healthier ( 20 October, p 30 ) seems to be based on the idea that humans evolved on what is now called a Paleo diet, periodically going without food for days at a time. But humans have adapted within a few centuries to be more tolerant of …

Faced with the problem of greater brittleness being associated with increased strength, nature tackles it by rearranging internal microstructures, as Liz Kalaugher points out ( 29 September, p 40 ). We see the same phenomenon in ceramics – and in that ubiquitous material, concrete. Also emulating nature, we often reinforce material with bundles of fibres. …

So one in five want immortality ( 22 September, p 8 ). Perhaps they need to study the Greek myth of Tithonus. His goddess lover Dawn persuaded Zeus to grant him immortality, but forgot about the eternal youth bit . Loathsome old age pressed full upon him, he could not move nor lift his limbs, …

• Cholesterol is a lipid that animals use to build cell membranes ( 29 September, p 12 ). • On a long fuse: satellites with manipulators could be used to defuse an opponent's orbiting bomb ( 24 October 1968, p 176 ). • Sponges' spicules are made of silica ( 20 October, p 8 ).

Sarab Sethi and his team have developed a device that cheaply gauges rainforest biodiversity by interpreting the collective sound of different animals ( 6 October, p 10 ). I predict the results will reflect " Yoda's law ". This arose from efforts to maximise crops and is also called the "-3/2 distribution law": if you …