The risk in doing "best" lists like the one on our January cover is that readers will think we're idiots. You didn't let us down. How could we include the Tin Man among the "50 Best Bots Ever"? you asked. And how could we exclude Bender from Futurama and that bag of bolts from Lost in Space? Well, uh, it's complicated: After surveying our vast nerdiverse, we used our best judgment. Hey! Look over there - a puppy! Also from the Dubious Claims Dept.: One reader scoffed at our assertion that doctors and nurses would show up for work during a bird flu epidemic. "Fat chance that any volunteers will step forward," he wrote. What can we say? Sometimes readers disagree with us, and sometimes we disagree with them.
Your Two Cents on Our Fiddy
I had to read through "The 50 Best Robots Ever" (issue 14.01) twice because I couldn't believe you left out Bender from Futurama. Would you leave Jack Nicholson off a list of the top 50 actors or Joe Montana off the top 50 quarterbacks? Bender is the funniest robot ever - hands down. He can open the door on his chest and give you anything you need: a hammer, beer, whatever. He can take himself apart and flush himself down the toilet. Best of all, he can shoot fire out of his ass.
Frank Muldoon
Campbell, California
I can't believe the Lost in Space robot didn't make it into the top 50. Danger, Will Robinson!
Mario Salman
Dallas, Texas
I take exception to the inclusion of the Predator UAV. The Predator is actually more like a large radio-controlled airplane than a robot. A robot should be able to operate without direct control, and the Predator is controlled by a person. If you wanted to include an autonomous UAV, you should have considered the Global Hawk, which flies without human intervention.
Dana Zimmerli
Redondo Beach, California
Why would you include the Tin Man? Has anybody ever referred to the Tin Man as a robot? Meanwhile, are Astroboy and Optimus Prime supposed to represent all of Japanese robotdom, without mention of a single mecha? Um, hello, Gundam?
Paul Golin
New York, New York
How can you guys run an article about the 50 best bots and not include Johnny Number 5 from Short Circuit? He has to be one of the coolest and friendliest robots to date, and yet he got beat by the Turk. What gives?
James Touhey
San Diego, California
Prefabricated Response
While Michelle Kaufmann and others are due some praise for shaking up the prefab housing market ("Some Assembly Required," Wired Home, issue 14.01), I wonder why so much architectural effort, promotional muscle, and magazine ink are being devoted to modernist architecture. I'm waiting for contemporary remix culture - so celebrated elsewhere in Wired - to reach the prefab market. Then I can I drop my dollars on a Gaudi/Muromachi/Romanesque house.
Gwyan Rhabyt
Davenport, California
Stopping an Outbreak Before It Starts
"The Battle to Stop Bird Flu" (issue 14.01) was wonderful, frightening, and revealing. Most people don't realize how deadly the flu is; I didn't, until it took my 15-month-old daughter's life in 2003. The more the public knows about this deadly virus, the more pressure there will be on our government to protect against an outbreak. We can only hope the authorities will respond promptly when there is an epidemic, unlike in the past.
Denise Palmer
Viera, Florida
Free Your Mind
"Don't Even Think About Lying" (issue 14.01) was a great, provocative article. The civil libertarian in me screams, "Hands (actually, magnetic waves) off my brain activity," especially in light of how coercively abusive the use of Breathalyzers and blood tests is. At the same time, I welcome any technology that may free incarcerated innocents and help authorities nab truly dangerous criminals. Now that we approach reliable determination of truth tellers, perhaps we can trash the antiquated practice of swearing in witnesses.
Steve Putnam
Seattle, Washington
Steve Silberman writes that "people who learn to inhibit their reactions to stress can slip through a polygrapher's net." But the same is true for fMRI and other neuroimaging techniques. Researchers have repeatedly shown that so-called false memories can be every bit as robust as memory of something that actually happened. These would get by fMRIs, as there would be no memory to inhibit, nothing for the fMRI to detect. Thus, any sociopath who believed he was innocent, or any criminal with a well-trained alibi, would be freed. If this comes to fruition, it'll be another reason to move to Canada.
Jeff Dressel
Lawrence, Kansas
Dear RIAA: Read No Further
Mr. Know-It-All is clearly a pioneer - kudos (Start, issue 14.01). But I'm mad at Clive Thompson for outing the "lesser-known" file swap site that I had heard was excellent and was considering using. Can't he keep a secret?
Michelle Levy
New York, New York
Playing Corporate Ball
If the public backlash against Big Business' renaming stadiums is due in any way to an aversion to corporations, fans would be wise to remember history (Start, Atlas, issue 14.01). Before our stadiums were named after big, rich companies, they were named after big, rich families (Wrigley, Comiskey, et cetera).
David Pompei
Chicago, Illinois
Another Knockout Knockoff
In "Calling Out the Copycats" (Play, Music, issue 14.01), you missed the most hysterical album-art parody I know of: Ween's The Pod, a Scotchgard inhaler-infused take on Leonard Cohen's The Best Of.
Anthony Greco
Cresskill, New Jersey
