A vital ability

Father and son reading a book.
Photograph: Alamy

How far can you make it without reading?

Some people suffer from dyslexia as children, but then so did Picasso and Sir Richard Branson.
Richard Orlando, Westmount, Quebec, Canada

• Up to the stop sign.
Marilyn Hamilton, Perth, Western Australia

• H.
Charlie Bamforth, Davis, California, US

• The White House.
Jim Neilan, Dunedin, New Zealand

• Without Reading, my journey from Basingstoke to Henley-on-Thames would be a lot quicker.
David Tucker, Halle, Germany

• Only from the moment I fall asleep until the moment I wake up.
Gillian Shenfield, Sydney, Australia

• Read the instructions, read my lips, read the signs – it’s a matter of survival.
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

• In many societies, you can get pretty far. While there is some very good research on how people succeed in western societies despite poor reading skills, there is a far bigger body of research that shows that the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against non-readers in most aspects of life, despite their doggedness and innovative strategies.

From a statistical perspective, bet on having good reading skills every time.
John Benseman, Auckland, New Zealand

Will I fit in the dodgem car?

Do childhood thrills like riding escalators wear off?

Not entirely. When I see a big pile of raked-up autumn leaves, I just have to go and kick them in all directions.
Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia

• Often they turn into fears; heights and speed that once delighted us as kids turn into paralysing fears and phobias.
Meg Sutton Benseman, Auckland, New Zealand

• Perhaps temporarily, but they are rekindled when you have grandchildren and start doing these things with them.
Avril Taylor, Dundas, Ontario, Canada

• Please feel free to draw your own conclusions, but most escalator riders don’t seem to be thrill-seeking.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia

• Yes, particularly when the escalators aren’t working and you have to climb up them.
Joan Dawson, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

• Thrills do: hates do not. I still loathe rhubarb.
Philip Stigger, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

• Yes, when we discover more appealing thrills, usually just after puberty.
Alan Williams-Key, Madrid, Spain

• I take my grandchildren to the Perth Royal Show, because I’d feel stupid with my wife sitting next to me in the dodgem cars.
Rhys Winterburn, Perth, Western Australia