From Our Readers

Braille Congratulations on the article “Louis Braille—Bringing Light to Prisoners of Darkness.” (September 8, 2000) The head of the school where I work is visually impaired. He was very impressed when I read the article to him. A copy of the magazine was placed in the school library.

M.A.S., Brazil

Meditation I wish to thank you for the article “The Bible’s Viewpoint: Meditation That Is Beneficial.” (September 8, 2000) Now I understand that I have confused fantasizing with meditation. By applying Philippians 4:8, I now know the proper way to ponder over my problems. Thank you very much!

W. P., Poland

Beavers I am 15 years old and would like to thank you for the article “The Original Lumberjack Is Still on the Job.” (September 8, 2000) I enjoy reading about animals and how they live. But I never knew that beavers could do so much! I think that the way they take care of themselves and their families is so incredible!

S. J., United States

I am ten years old, and I read the article while camping by a creek. I could just imagine the beavers there working away. I enjoy the articles on animals because they help me appreciate all the wonderful things Jehovah has made.

B. P., United States

Fuzzy Math? I would like to bring to your attention what I consider to be a small mistake in the article “The Quest for a Perfect Society.” (September 22, 2000) You stated that it would take 26 years to read 200 thousand-page volumes. By my calculations, it would take less than four years.

P. I., Romania

Thank you for your observation. Although it is true that reading 200 thousand-page volumes of a narrative work would take much less time, the data being collected by the Human Genome Project involves sequences of DNA, which would be much more tedious and time-consuming to read.—ED.

I believe you made a common mistake in the article “What the Unaided Eye Cannot See.” (August 22, 2000) There you spoke of microscopes that can magnify objects a million times, “the equivalent of enlarging a postage stamp to the size of a small country.” One million postage stamps would fit in an array of 1000 X 1000 stamps. Assuming a stamp is one inch [about 2.5 cm] on each side, this would cover a square about 83 feet [25 m] on each side. I don’t think you will find any country that small!

R. C., United States

Instead of imagining that one stamp would become an array of 1,000 x 1,000 stamps, picture an array of 1,000,000 x 1,000,000 stamps, since magnification is linear. That would be roughly the size of a small island-country.—ED.

Air Travel Safety Just a note to thank you for the article “Making Air Travel Safer.” (September 22, 2000) I love flying, but after reading this article, I realize how much work and time is put into training pilots, with our safety in mind.

E. P., Virgin Islands

Thinness As soon as I saw the title “Young People Ask . . . Why Am I So Thin?” (September 22, 2000), my eyes filled with tears. I am 16 and weigh 100 pounds. Since I am so thin, I’ve felt ugly and unattractive. When I read the article, I appreciated the practical suggestions it made. The conclusion touched me the most because it made me realize that Jehovah sees the heart.

E. L., Italy