Rants + Raves
We'd like to take this opportunity to share the results of our most recent reader demographic survey. It turns out that you, our beloved readers, are physically fit and mentally disciplined – as evidenced by your responses to our October cover story. Your cure for so-called metabolic syndrome? "Reduced caloric intake and 30 minutes of exercise every day," one of you wrote. "No processed food and a minimum of an hour and a half of exercise, every day," another said. We subscribe to the "ride a zillion miles on a bike and then drink pinot noir" regimen, so we totally get you. Another fascinating commonality among readers: You're all wacky for exotic cars – especially when they crash spectacularly, as in our piece on the Gizmondo scandal. "In the high tech state of California," one of you wrote, "how can a bunch of low-level Swedish crooks float around pretending to be tech executives?" Well, first you need a Ferrari.
Weighing the Options
Though several "lifestyle" maladies (PMS, baldness, social phobia) have been inappropriately medicalized by the pharmaceutical industry for profit, metabolic syndrome is not one of them ("The Thin Pill," issue 14.10). More than 60 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, and many will develop type 2 diabetes. The pharmaceutical industry has desperately tried to find a magic pill to treat obesity, and thus far nothing has really worked. Targeting the components of metabolic syndrome with drugs may not make us any thinner, but it may prevent diabetes. A recently published study showed that the drug Avandia reduced the risk of developing diabetes in metabolic syndrome patients by more than half.
Matthew Mintz
Associate professor of medicine
George Washington University School of Medicine
Washington, DC
"The Thin Pill" embodies an overarching point: Humans want to live long, disease-free lives. Some will accomplish this with healthy diets and regular exercise. Others will neglect their well-being and use drugs as their safety net. You can't stop science (and marketing) any more than you can get someone out of the drive-thru and onto a bicycle. For some, life is the path of least resistance to a given end; for others, it is the quality of the trek.
Ari Shapiro
Tucson, Arizona
As a hardcore-exercising, strict-diet-following registered dietitian, I am relieved to read a scientifically based theory on metabolic syndrome. The people I see who have been diagnosed with the five symptoms all refuse to take full responsibility – all have horrible diets, and all are lazy. I will never believe in weight-loss drugs, regardless of what we dietitians are taught about the factors that contribute to obesity. The real problem is gluttony and sloth.
Lindsay Travnicek
Mesa, Arizona
Car-Crashingly Fantastic
Do you have any idea how much office time Randall Sullivan's brilliant article ("Gizmondo's Spectacular Crack-Up," issue 14.10) on Bo Stefan Eriksson has cost our company? And every second was worth it. I'm the boss and the "Here, read this!" person. It was enormous fun to hear each reader murmur and gasp. We await the miniseries, as it's probably too complex to be a single movie. Bravo, kudos, and all the rest! More, please.
Katharine Kyes Leab
Washington, Connecticut
The Gizmondo article was exceptionally well-paced and intriguing, and it laid bare the chaos of information surrounding Eriksson's world. Congratulations also on the artwork by Jae Lee. It was a perfect complement to this surreal, graphic novel-style tale. Keep up the stunning work.
Sean Harrington
Woodland Hills, California
Really, It's Not Funny
I can't stop thinking that Eric Bauman's success was built on the destruction of a human being and that he still doesn't regret it ("Dude, That Is So Not Funny," issue 14.10). All proud papa can comment on is how much ass his son turns down. Did you have to take a long shower with strong lye soap to wash off the stink of this person's life after you did this story?
Mark Steele
American Fork, Utah
Lost in the Maize
Harvesting enough corn to make the ethanol required to meet fuel demand would render vast regions of land barren, damaging the global ecosystem and food production ("My Big Biofuels Bet," issue 14.10). Increasing corn crop output would require more fertilizers and pesticides, which would contaminate water systems. Methane from beef and dairy cattle is already a huge contributor to global warming. We should use that methane to convert water to hydrogen gas for fuel cells, since doing so would eliminate the need for increased corn production. Better still: We should move away from methane altogether. We have to think bigger.
Greg McBrady
Seattle, Washington
Welcome to Education Island
Your "Let's Go: Second Life" article (issue 14.10) neglected to mention one of the most fascinating aspects of SL: the educational potential of the teen grid, restricted to 13- to 17-year-olds. On public and private "islands," organizations like ours are encouraging teens to take action on issues they care about, like global inequality, global warming, and the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. And we are doing it in ways that are possible only in the virtual world.
Barry Joseph
Director, Online Leadership Program
Global Kids
New York, New York
Sand Crab
I'm fascinated that we marvel at the kind of environmentally destructive business decisions described in the story about terraforming (Start, "Shifting Sands," issue 14.10). By excluding environmental costs in your calculations, you prove that too many people these days are more enamored of the almighty dollar than of the prospect of leaving future generations with a healthy planet. Dredging sand from the ocean floor produces silt that can spread miles in the ocean. This sediment reduces visibility for fish and other ocean dwellers, making scavenging more difficult and disrupting sea creatures' life cycles. Moving 35 billion cubic feet of sand in the ocean should make your skin crawl.
Brian Naylor
Whistler, British Columbia
Waste Management
As a materials scientist, I want to point out an important advance in diapers (Start, Infoporn, issue 14.10): the new high tech fleece and microfiber diapers, like Fuzzi Bunz. They last three times longer than standard, bulky cotton prefolds, require less water to clean, and use far less energy to dry. My husband and I use them on our child, and we'll lower their environmental impact even further by reusing them on subsequent children. The total environmental impact of this product is a full order of magnitude less than your article suggests. Better living through chemistry!
Jennifer Gerbi
Urbana, Illinois
Warning: Graphic Compliments
I want to say what a spectacular job Wired's design department has done in the past few months. You've created a completely new Wired aesthetic, with supercool layouts, great photography, and innovative approaches to information display. Thanks to all of you. Wired has become one of my favorite magazines to look at for design inspiration. From one designer to another, kick-ass work!
Andy Kribbs
Chicago, Illinois
