At what point does reality live up to the fantasy?
Reality and fantasy, like parallel lines, never meet. They may, though, give that illusion, at a vanishing point.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia
• Hopefully at no point, otherwise what would be the point of a fantasy?
David Isaacs, Sydney, Australia
• Just when you think things can’t get any worse …
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• In the case of reality TV, there is no such point – Big Brother is not watching me, and I’m happy to reciprocate.
Noel Bird, Boreen Point, Queensland, Australia
• At the point of letting go.
Mary Oates, Perth, Western Australia
• Orgasm.
Edward Black, Church Point, NSW, Australia
• When life is really fantastic.
Jim Dewar, Gosford, NSW, Australia
• When you begin to believe the media.
Pat Phillips, Adelaide, South Australia
• When your love is returned.
David Tucker, Halle, Germany
• With every bite of chocolate.
Stuart Williams, Kampala, Uganda
Deviousness’s image problem
Can being devious be all bad?
Not when it’s for a good cause.
Anthony Walter, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
• Not at all.
Kevin Keen, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
• Being devious is all bad. If it were at all good, it would be being rather astute.
John Black, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
From the mouths of babes
Of all the languages humans speak, which is the best to avoid being forced to signify gender?
Finnish, Hungarian, Persian and Malay are all examples of fundamentally gender-neutral languages. For example, in Malay the pronoun dia means he/she/it and most nouns are gender-neutral. If gender is semantically significant then there is modification through adjectives.
Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia
• That’s easy: religious language. Supreme deity dialogue does not require participants to signify gender.
David Tulanian, Los Angeles, California, US
• Morse code?
Adrian Cooper, Queens Park, NSW, Australia
• Babbling.
R De Braganza, Kilifi, Kenya
The bottom line? Great action
Why does professional sport attract so many spectators?
Thrilling action; amazing skill and daring; high tension; conflict and resolution – all enjoyed sitting on one’s soft bottom.
Mac Bradden, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
• When I was young, I played baseball in my backyard, on the street, and at local parks. Puberty came and with it the realisation that I couldn’t ever be a pro. Nowadays, I enjoy the field of dreams.
Donna Samoyloff, Toronto, Canada
• Because watching it is a lot easier than doing any exercise yourself.
Margaret Wilkes, Perth, Western Australia
Any answers?
What would we have if we had no present?
R De Braganza, Kilifi, Kenya
Weapons of war aside, what is mankind’s most damaging invention?
Terence Rowell, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Send answers to weekly.nandq@theguardian.com or Guardian Weekly, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, UK
