Reply All | Letters: The 12.2.12 Issue

Even though living forever might be disastrous, this science is still worth pursuing. The key to the mystery is how the cells of the jellyfish "know" when to revert to stem cells and when to differentiate again. Learning that secret could lead to cures for cancer, heart disease, congenital defects and other diseases. Our bodies could be reprogrammed to fix faults and mistakes in aging. This does not realistically mean immortality in a romanticized way. But it does mean higher quality of life and extension of life for those who would otherwise fall victim to the whims of cell reproduction and genetic defects. KIMBERLY KOLB, Ph.D. candidate, Rochester Institute of Technology, posted on nytimes.com

In his tale of the Turritopsis, Nathaniel Rich makes a great deal out of the fact that this jellyfish retains its organism in perpetuity. According to him, the jellyfish is, consequently, "immortal." But mortality or immortality does not depend on the vagaries of your organism. They depend exclusively on your sense of individuality, i.e., your "consciousness." As Turritopsis hasn't presumably got one, we (or itself) cannot really say whether it is mortal or immortal. We humans are in the same situation. We do not know, and cannot know, whether our sense of individuality is real or illusory. We die, and somebody else is born. If we wish, we can also consider ourselves "regenerated." In other words, we are just as immortal as the Turritopsis. MAURO LUCENTINI, New York

As a marine biologist, I was impressed by how your article portrayed Shin Kubota, the scientist who studies the "immortal jellyfish." From my understanding of Kubota's lifestyle, you could have portrayed him as a "mad scientist." But you didn't. Although I would not consider myself nearly as dedicated to my own work as Kubota is to his, I felt that your article portrayed well what drives a biologist: sometimes the tedious daily tasks that consume your life are part of a bigger picture, a bigger goal, no matter how small a part you play in that goal or ideal. LAURIE C. HOFMANN, PH.D. Bremen Marine Ecology — Center for Research and Education, University of Bremen, Germany

We in the jellyfish community have been amazed at how this story has popped back up after several years. . . . The idea of reverting back to a stem cell and developing anew is not exactly what people think of in terms of being "immortal." KEVIN RASKOFF, PH.D., Monterey Peninsula College, posted on phylogenomics.blogspot.com

While I marvel at the incredible flora and fauna of this tiny planetary speck, I'll take my humanity, death included, over immortal-jellyfish-hood any day. RICHARD L. CRANK, Lawrence, Kan., posted on nytimes.com

THE AUTISM ADVANTAGE

I read with interest the hopeful story about how the company Specialisterne matches people with autism with appropriate, successful employment. Another article in your issue states that the difficulty in gaining knowledge about the immortality of jellyfish is a technical problem. "It requires close attention and an enormous amount of repetitive, tedious labor." Maybe Specialisterne's consultants could work with marine scientists for more satisfying results in this field. TRICIA GOLDBERG, Berkeley, Calif.

When I started reading the article, I thought, Oh, great, another article about an autistic kid's special superpowers that will make me feel bad that my own autistic son doesn't appear to have any. But I'm glad I kept reading. Gareth Cook thoughtfully conveyed the spectrum of autism. My son, 9, isn't a savant; he has no knack for assembling Legos or machines. But he does have a beautiful (and often outrageous) imagination. We have found theater to be a decent outlet for him; improv in particular allows him to shine. I don't know how that will translate into career skills, but at least it's something. ELYSE ORECCHIO, Sunnyside, N.Y., posted on nytimes.com

As a 65-year-old former software technical writer with Asperger's, I'm delighted to see that Specialisterne is expanding to the United States. If only it had been here when I was younger and in the prime of my working life. Despite strong technical and writing skills, I was fired from 92 percent of all the technical-writing jobs I held. (Yes, I'm an Aspie, so I calculated this.) I could not understand the unwritten social rules of the workplace and made numerous social errors. Second, as do many Aspies, I lack so-called executive-functioning skills. Thus, I had great difficulty planning and managing my writing projects. Given this employment history, I have been out of work for four years. Educating the public about the workplace difficulties faced by people with Asperger's is crucial. PAM SHIRA FLEETMAN, Acton, Mass., posted on nytimes.com

THE HOMOGENIZATION OF PLANT LIFE IN U.S. CITIES

In certain neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area, a sign of gentrification is the destruction of the lawn and the installation of native or at least drought-tolerant plants on a carefully designed, rainwater-infiltrating landscape. I'm sure Phoenix residents are on their way to being slightly hipper by ditching the English garden framework. LAURIE FRASER, San Luis Obispo, Calif., posted on nytimes.com

WHO DO ONLINE ADVERTISERS THINK YOU ARE?

Does online advertising and targeting actually sell more stuff? My personal experience is that it does not — people just blow right past the ads looking for something else. I've been with plenty of online advertising agencies, and they always say that it's not a problem with the technology or targeting, it's that the message is weak or the product is mediocre. Maybe, but those sound like self-serving excuses. It's asking a lot of humans who have become increasingly savvy at tuning out unsolicited messages to suddenly expect them to change their behavior and actually pay attention to any of this. DAVID, Allentown, Pa., posted on nytimes.com

As a privacy professional, I am aware of targeted ads and usually find amusement in who they think I am. I subscribe to a daily e-newsletter from Merriam-Webster; their e-mails always come with two stacked ads. Once, I received two Paul Ryan ads. On multiple occasions, I have gotten "Meet Women Over 50," even though I'm married and go nowhere near singles and dating Web sites. But I think this one was the ultimate: a pro-Romney ad right on top of a pro-Obama ad. I guess they couldn't decide if I was "Republican Michael" or "Democrat Michael." MICHAEL SEESE, Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Computers make wildly wrong guesses about you based on your online activity. I guess algorithms are still human. @alexalexyang, via Twitter, on our article about online advertising

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