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Richard Smyth says the growing trend of seeing our relationship with nature as a spiritual thing is a mistake. But "existential" or "mysterious" are surely better words to describe it than "spiritual". Bertrand Russell, the great atheist philosopher, famously said: "We know very little, and yet it is astonishing that we know so much, and …

Smyth is absolutely right that there are no lessons to be learned from nature. Morality and meaning cannot be obtained from nature or its study; their true source is elsewhere. It is hard not to feel that the deification of nature is a substitute for traditional religious belief. The fundamental question is: is nature – …

Paul Whiteley points out that 75 per cent of the sunlight hitting solar panels is lost as heat, but roof-top solar water heaters convert 95 per cent into hot water. So let's combine the two! Have a layer of water between the solar panel and a glass plate, as in a solar water heater. The …

In the article "Rapa Nui statues may have been built by small groups", the important materials utilised for the construction of these numerous and impressive stone statues are referred to only as having originated from "one quarry supplying the rock" ( 6 December 2025, p 17 ). Perhaps this is of no concern to most …

The record X-ray pulse produced by LCLS-II in 2024 carried a terawatt of power ( 10 January, p 15 ).

Richard Smyth's article "Our true nature" is a valuable corrective to overly mystical interpretations of nature and the claim that a "sense of oneness with nature" is associated with "greater spirituality" and scepticism about "science over faith". I contend that while science informs and expands our knowledge and love of nature, spirituality, in the sense …

Ian Smith criticises my comparison of modern SUVs with older small cars. But I didn't make that comparison. Rather, it was made by Anthony Laverty in his opinion piece. I simply pointed out that, counterintuitively, the switch in public preference had probably led to a substantial reduction in fossil-fuel consumption. In my personal experience, that …

Some letter writers seem to have missed some of the implications of living in a simulation. It is provably impossible to detect that we are in a simulation. Should anyone discover a "fact" that reveals the simulation, the system admin can stop the run, edit out the rogue fact and restart from a backup ( …

Paul Whiteley writes about the value of small changes in averting the climate crisis. But small changes, however much they are multiplied, produce only small effects. If every person and business in the world were to reduce their energy consumption by 1 per cent, the global decrease in energy consumption would be just that – …

The article on Reflect Orbital's plan to use satellites to provide sunshine on demand raises the at least equal chance of reflecting sunshine away from Earth, which would be far more desirable to reduce global warming. The areas that should be the first to be shaded should be areas with the most rapid ice cap …