Page 59 - New Scientist

THE LAST WORD Last words past and present at newscientist.com/lastword

Playing for time of hours practising a piece, a in young birds approaching their This week’s
musician will know it inside out. peak laying, but it is unusual to
How is it possible for concert pianists It is common to practise find them in standard eggs graded questions
to play faster than the eye can follow? technically difficult passages for sale because double-yolkers CUBICLE COUNT
more than easier ones, until they are usually removed and sold for How do those running large
QWhen a concert pianist become instinctive in the player’s special culinary purposes. sporting and cultural events
performs, sight isn’t the only “muscle memory”. This enables It is feasible, if rare, for an determine how many toilets to
sense they use. Although hand- them to be played blisteringly egg with two ova to be fertilised. provide? Is there an accepted
eye coordination is important, fast, often faster than the If this does happen, a number ratio or does it vary, and if so
especially when learning new intended speed. by how much?
pieces, most pianists have a Similar skills are found in “A chick hatches by chipping Craig Mitchell
strong“keyboard geography” professional sight-readers who away at the shell with its Brisbane, Australia
and knowledge of harmonic and accompany rehearsals, recitals, egg tooth. Two chicks
interval patterns, and an internal masterclasses, exams and choirs. would obstruct each other” A TAD LATE
ear that enables them to feel the They often play at exceptional I was cleaning my garden pond
music and anticipate what is speed without looking at their of factors make it very unlikely at the end of October and came
coming next. hands, because their eyes are that either chick would survive. across a live tadpole. I had
Recent research by pianist and processing the written music The larger the egg, the smaller the previously suspected that some
music theorist Daniel Beliavsky in front of them. ratio of surface area to volume, tadpoles are late undergoing
using eye-trackers suggests that There are also several concert so oxygen exchange across the metamorphosis, but this one
when pianists perform, their eyes pianists who are blind but shell would be compromised and really missed the boat. Is this
are focused not on what their manage just fine. the chicks would be competing a recognised phenomenon,
Bernard Bertschinger for the same supply. and what is the explanation?
“Eye-trackers suggest that Montacute, Somerset, UK If the two chicks were to survive Nick Hardwick
pianists focus on where long enough to hatch, they would Walton-on-the Hill, Staffordshire, UK
their hands need to be a Q It’s not just concert pianists. both need to break into the air cell
few seconds later” My girlfriend can steal and eat contained within to take their first FUTURE PLASTIC
my dessert faster than the eye breaths. They would then have to What is the ultimate fate for
hands are playing, but on where can follow. get out of the shell. plastic waste in the sea? Will
their hands need to be a few Brian Smith Chicks usually do this by it form sediment that gets
seconds later. Berlin, Germany putting their head under one buried beneath the seabed and
Of course, pianists often still wing and using this as a fulcrum, eventually turns into plastic
need their eyes to successfully and they need to be able to turn a “oil”or “coal”?
locate any big jumps, dense You must be yolking full circle as they chip away at the Perry Bebbington
chords or complex passages, shell with their“egg tooth”. This Kimberley, Nottinghamshire, UK
and to feel both secure and My wife recently broke three eggs into would be nearly impossible with
confident while playing. Passages the frying pan in quick succession, two chicks in the shell, because as PUDDLE PUZZLE
based on scales and arpeggios are and all were double-yolked. Does this they moved they would obstruct My cat used to drink from the
easier to play fast, however, as mean there would have been three one another. pond and never seemed to suffer
they form a large part of piano sets of chicken twins? One can seldom say never, ill effects and you often see dogs
practice early on, so the patterns but it would be highly unlikely for drinking from muddy puddles.
are familiar. QDouble-yolked eggs are the two viable chicks to hatch out of So why do humans have to be so
It takes years of practice for a result of two ova coming from one egg. careful and only drink clean water?
performance to look natural and the ovary within a very short Kim Critchley Gavin Ansell
relaxed. After spending hundreds time. This occurs more frequently Clarence Park, South Australia Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK

We pay £25 for every answer answers to The Last Word, New Scientist,
published in New Scientist. To answer 25 Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ES.
a question or ask a new one please New Scientist Ltd retains
email lastword@newscientist.com. total editorial control over the
Questions should be scientific published content and reserves all
enquiries about everyday phenomena, rights to reuse question and answer
and both questions and answers material that has been submitted by
should be concise. We reserve the right readers in any medium or in any format
to edit items for clarity and style. Please and at any time in the future. All
include a postal address, daytime unanswered questions and previous
telephone number and email address. questions and answers are at
You can also send questions and newscientist.com/lastword/