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Letters archive

Join the conversation in New Scientist's Letters section, where readers can share their thoughts and opinions on articles and see responses from experts and enthusiasts across a range of science topics. To submit a letter, please see our terms and email letters@newscientist.com


12 April 2023

Ideas on the meaning of cave art hand stencils (1)

From Greg Watson, Albany, New York, US

You report that prehistoric hand stencils on cave walls with various digits missing could represent a sign language. I am a computer scientist, not a linguist, so I have a different take on the matter( 18 March, p 38 ). It looks to me like the 10 different hand signs (out of a possible 32) …

12 April 2023

Ideas on the meaning of cave art hand stencils (2)

From Linda Dawe, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, UK

The cave stencils look like tic-tac hand signals used by bookmakers to communicate betting odds at race courses to me. Perhaps they were valuable when out hunting. My granddaughter learned sign language before she could talk, and the recent television series Chris Packham's Animal Einsteins showed hand gestures that were identical among chimps, bonobos and …

12 April 2023

Ideas on the meaning of cave art hand stencils (3)

From Warren Buckles, Madison, Wisconsin, US

No right hands are shown in the illustrations or photos in your story, leading me to believe all the cave stencils are of left hands. As a left-handed person, I wonder if any of the stencil-makers were left-handed and, if so, why they didn't stencil their right hands. In addition, if these did represent a …

12 April 2023

Ideas on the meaning of cave art hand stencils (4)

From Lyn Williams, Neath, West Glamorgan, UK

The hands could represent signals used while hunting animals, as suggested, but perhaps we are seeing an early classroom, and the stencilled wall is a blackboard to teach youngsters which gesture corresponds to each animal.

12 April 2023

Is Venus volcano a sign of planetary nuclear activity?

From Jim McHardy, Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, UK

Recent evidence of volcanism on Venus could be due to the continuing, very slow fission of uranium and the decay of its various daughter products, the result of an earlier, natural nuclear reaction deep underground. Similar natural reactors have been found on Earth close to the surface in Oklo in Gabon. If this is the …

12 April 2023

Great to get some advice on longer-term thinking

From Bryn Glover, Kirkby Malzeard, North Yorkshire, UK

I greatly welcomed Richard Fisher's article on far-sighted thinking for its clear explanation of why most governments of high-income countries have failed to tackle climate change, and also for its pointers on how to adopt a long-term mindset( 25 March, p 46 ).

12 April 2023

It isn't just humans that block the flow of rivers

From Dave Holtum, Bath, UK

In Graham Lawton's excellent summary of the state of British rivers, the issue of fragmentation by dams and other obstacles is mentioned, and it is stated that the defining characteristic of natural rivers is that they flow. I wonder if this is entirely true. I estimate that the population of beavers in the UK in …

12 April 2023

One solution to light pollution for stargazing

From John Ozmore, Fayetteville, Arkansas, US

Your article made me ponder the light pollution that spoils our view of the night sky. I can see well in the dark without light to blind me and I get around fine in the woods at night without artificial light. However, if there is even a peripheral passing of white light, it will take …

12 April 2023

Chris Packham is right, but how do we get there?

From Mike Clarke, Castle Hedingham, Essex, UK

Chris Packham's article should be applauded for its clear statement of the obvious: a need to achieve a sustainable human population in balance with the available renewable resources( 25 March, p 27 ). The problem is that he, like most commentators, provides no advice on how this can actually be achieved on the scale or …

12 April 2023

On the pros and cons of video games for kids (1)

From Mike Raynor, Glossop, Derbyshire, UK

Naomi Fisher describes how video games enriched her children's lives and how she bonded with them over shared gaming experiences. As a parent and avid childhood gamer, I agree that it can be a very positive experience. I am suspicious of any wholly negative coverage of gaming, which can border on snobbery( 18 March, p …

12 April 2023

On the pros and cons of video games for kids (2)

From David Hulme, Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK

I am forced to side with Fisher in her view that we should take a more positive approach to video games among children, especially when my grandson told me recently that he earned points in a history lesson with his knowledge of Vikings and ancient Greece gained by playing such games.

Issue no. 3434 published 15 April 2023