Discussion

From the Editors Readers were transported by Sir Patrick Stewart, who appeared on the cover and was interviewed inside [“Command Performance”]. “His unending curiosity and openness to new ideas...he shares with the characters we love him for,” Michelle Kernen wrote on Facebook. Diane Mitacek Bressner RSVP’d that the British actor “is certainly in the top ten of my Ultimate Dinner Party guest list.”

Fact and Fiction
“Brave New Words,” like science fiction itself, implies that hope for the future lies in technology, rather than in the choices of everyday people. If science has taught us anything, it’s that we have limits. Until we decide to live within those limits—to have fewer children, to consume less, to reduce our footprint—no technology by itself will save us. This is the real utopian scenario—the optimistic, achievable future. But, of course, it’s too simple and won’t sell.

Bruce Kistler
Winter Haven, FLorida

In years past, a lot of young people learned science and were enthralled by it because of science fiction [“Brave New Words”]. But a lot of modern science fiction does not hinge on the hard science questions, so young people serious about science today are reading less of it.

Alexander J. Wei
on facebook

Brain Surgery
Deep brain stimulation technology [“Mind Craft”] has tremendous promise. As you portrayed, physician investigators and clinicians are appropriately highlighted as pioneers leading this journey. But not even a sentence acknowledging the immense engineering and development effort, primarily private sector, to deliver these reliable implantable devices to the doctors? Would one cover a trip to the Moon and only talk about the astronauts?

John Hauck
Shoreview, Minnesota

Clarification
Numerous readers of “America’s Best Small Towns” (April) have complained that the Chautauqua attractions we focused on are provided by the private Chautauqua Institution, which charges fees to attend events or visit the historic campus in the summer. That’s true. However, admission to the grounds during the summer season is free on Sundays, and children 12 and younger are always admitted at no charge. Also, on weekly Community Appreciation Nights, a $20 ticket to an evening concert includes access to the facilities. Outside the summer season, access to the grounds is free.