In discussing the vote to leave the EU, our editorial headlined “We must fight this retreat from Britain’s liberal and open-minded traditions” (9 October, page 40) said: “It is worth restating that a thumping 48%, or 16.1 million people, voted Remain, while a further 28% expressed no opinion either way.” We should clarify that it’s estimated that around 72% of eligible voters did vote, of whom 48% voted Remain (approx 34.5% of those eligible), and 52% voted Leave (37.4% of eligible voters). That leaves 28.1% of eligible voters who did not vote.
“Machine learning: why we mustn’t be slaves to the algorithm” (Science and Tech, last week, page 23) concluded that Wittgenstein “would have loved this research… maybe ML geeks should read his Tractatus”. But it is in his later Philosophical Investigations that Wittgenstein argues for “meaning is use”, not the Tractatus.
Homophone call: “… one that is likely to illicit less sympathy…” (“Sharapova back in play”, Sport, 9 October, page 18).
In Lunch with Richard Coles (Food Monthly, last week) his grandfather was said to have had a “wax moustache”. Unlikely. Waxed, probably.
Write to Stephen Pritchard, Readers’ Editor, the Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, email observer.readers@observer.co.uk tel 020 3353 4656
