Monday, Apr. 22, 1996

THE BATTLE AGAINST PROSTATE CANCER

"If the health-care industry would focus on preventive measures instead of potential cures, thousands of lives could be saved." WENDELL COVALT Redondo Beach, California

Thank you for your report on prostate cancer [MEDICINE, April 1]. Many think it is a disease of older men, but there has been a very rapid increase in prostate cancer in younger men. I was 48 when I asked for a diagnostic prostate-specific antigen test, even though my physician at the time did not recommend that I consider a PSA until I was 50. The tumor that was discovered was large and aggressive, but I am hopeful that my surgery was in time. Currently, researchers are looking mainly at older patients. We also need to focus more attention on the diagnosis and treatment of younger men. RICHARD SIGEL Alamo, California

You made note of a California physician's study concluding that external-beam radiation therapy cures only 20% to 25% of patients. But other studies show much better results. Several investigators around the country in very reputable radiation-oncology departments have shown that cure rates with external-beam radiation therapy are 40% to 60% of all patients and 80% to 90% of patients who are considered to be surgical candidates. The later cure rates are the same as those for patients who undergo radical prostatectomy, or excision of the prostate gland. We implore your readers to investigate all available treatment options through consultations with radiation oncologists as well as urologic surgeons. ALAN POLLACK, M.D. GUNAR K. ZAGARS, M.D. Department of Radiotherapy M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Houston

As a 42-year-old male who had a radical prostatectomy two years ago, I say shame on any health-care provider who feels that a PSA test can lead to widespread unnecessary treatment and withholds it from patients. Along with the view that there is no need to test in younger men, this attitude prevailed when my cancer was discovered. If I had not been an R.N. and a member of a hospital's administrative team, I might have gone untreated. It still took two years before an abnormal PSA and a rectal exam led to a correct diagnosis. I salute General Norman Schwarzkopf, Michael Milken and all the other high-profile men who have shared their stories with the world. I hope their efforts will lead to early detection and treatment for many men unaware they have prostate cancer. CLARK A. FENN East Longmeadow, Massachusetts Via E-mail

I speak against routine screening for prostate cancer. While our clinic regularly tests for many diseases, we don't systematically screen for prostate cancer. We do recognize that prostate cancer is a serious health problem and accept the PSA as an adequately sensitive test. However, we don't recommend screening because there is no evidence that detection or treatment of prostate cancer in asymptomatic men improves their lives or reduces their risk of dying from the disease. There is no way to differentiate the thousands of prostate cancers that will cause problems from the millions that won't. For the great majority of the 1 in 5 American men who develop prostate cancer, it will never have an effect on their lives. Most will die of other causes. Without a method of separating the destructive cancers from the insignificant cancers, we would be doing more harm than good. TODD SWANSON, M.D. Eau Claire, Wisconsin Via E-mail

Rather than figuring out how to destroy prostate cancer by surgery or radiation, medical research should concentrate on what causes it. Perhaps a higher incidence of such cancer occurs in men who have had a vasectomy or been exposed to certain pollutants in the environment. If we eliminate the source of the problem, men won't have to be damaged by the treatment. MICHEL CZEHATOWSKI Redding, California Via E-mail

CORRECTION Our Photo Gallery of men who have lost the battle with prostate cancer included a picture we identified as "Sen. Spark Matsunaga." Instead, the person pictured is Nobuo Matsunaga of Japan, a former ambassador to the U.S. He is alive and well and serving as advisor to Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs. TIME regrets the error.

CAN COWS KILL YOU?

So the finger is pointed squarely at Britain. We've got all the mad cows [WORLD, April 1]. But is this the whole story? Most countries in Europe have admitted to a few cases of the human disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob, which could be related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or the mad-cow sickness. And perhaps there are many more cases than they care to admit to. Other countries blame Britain as the source of infection. Very easy. But it seems strange that the BSE disease is restricted to these small islands. And what of the cattle food made from scrapie-infected sheep brains, which may have been the source of the infection? What of the other animals in the human food chain? And is there no risk of cross-infection to humans from lambs, pigs and the like? Is this a case of simple geographic isolation--or is it a Europe-wide cover-up? PHIL KEMP Lindford, England Via E-mail

At last a logical explanation for the erratic and illogical behavior of the young royals. The poor things have contracted mad-cow disease--probably from their steak-and-kidney pie. DONNA KRICORISSIAN Ottawa

Yes, cattle are mammals, but they are also ruminants. Therefore, it's insane, as well as unethical, to give them "protein additives" consisting of related animals. Mad-cow disease is a tragedy, but it is also a warning signal. I hope that what's happened will broaden the public's awareness of other questionable practices, such as feeding our domestic animals hormones and antibiotics. JORGEN STIERNBORG Nassjo, Sweden

Let the crazy-cow epidemic and its dreadful consequences put us on guard against all high-tech, quick-fattening livestock-management schemes. Animals should be given room enough to move about and should be fed on what nature designed for them. Crowding and feeding them junk create stress and produce inferior and, as it turns out, dangerous meats. In Uruguay our cattle fatten on natural and improved pastures and get no hormones. With plenty of room to move in, the animals are healthy and free of stress and strange ailments. Result: our meats are succulent, tender and have a low cholesterol content. WILLIAM TRIEST San Carlos, Uruguay

Every dairy farmer in the rest of the world realizes that "there but for the grace of God go I." It would be an unprecedented example of human brotherhood if each major dairy farmer outside Britain donated just under 2% of his herd to keep British farmers in business. Everyone would suffer a little, and no one would be wiped out by this tragedy. British beef could once again be consumed without fear. If nations can come to the rescue of others by waging war, why not a peacetime offensive? If animals can be shipped to zoos, it is certainly possible to ship cows to Britain. IRENE HOBSBAWN Willowdale, Canada

Gee, it looks as if flatulent cows are contributing to global warming and their hooves are destroying the earth's soil. It sure is a good thing that we killed off all those buffalo years ago before they did any more damage. DONALD OSTERGARD Drumheller, Canada

If the planet can no longer afford cows, it's just another sign that the human population is becoming an unbearable burden for the planet. So long as exponential population growth continues, we can do away with all cattle only to postpone the inevitable catastrophe for a few years. AKSEL WALDORFF Frederiksberg, Denmark

Mad-cow disease could turn out to be as serious a threat to mankind as AIDS. Nobody expected back in 1980, when just a few cases of AIDS were reported, that it would become such a grave and global problem. The E.U. feels sympathetic to Britain and wants to lessen its economic loss by possibly killing fewer cows than is necessary to eradicate the disease. It shows a good spirit to want to spare economic hardship, but this must not override the real concern about a potential large-scale spread of the disease in humans. Once the genie is out of bottle, it is hard to put it back in. The potentially contaminated beef may reach Third World countries. There is no shortage of corrupt politicians who want to make big bucks at any cost. The whole world has shrunk to the point where there are no secure borders. ANWAR UL HAQUE Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia Via E-mail

FACTORY OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Libya's Muammar Gaddafi is among the great manipulative villains of our time. Your article warns us that he is building the "world's largest underground chemical-weapons plant" to produce nerve gas [WORLD, April 1]. Industrialized and developing countries are equally threatened by megalomaniacs playing with the most destructive gadgets man has ever created. Democracy is threatened, and the superpowers seem as powerless as banana republics. HELENE THIBAULT Ottawa

My only question is, why are only so-called civilized countries like the U.S. allowed to produce and stock chemical weapons? These are means they have used themselves in the past. Who is the CIA to constantly interfere with, disrupt and implement the overthrow of sovereign country leaders? MARY CAMPBELL Toronto

MACHINES AND THE HUMAN MIND

As a programmer, I agree that computers can mimic the human thinking process [TECHNOLOGY, March 25], but I disagree that they have a consciousness similar to ours. When our thoughts are quieted (as when meditating), we experience pure consciousness. If a computer's "thoughts" are quieted, it becomes inert and has the consciousness of a rock. Also, unlike most of us, computers are unable to create original "thoughts"--all their "thoughts" are based on previous ones. We humans, through our consciousness, are able to have original ideas that have little or nothing to do with our past experience. MORTON BECKLEY Cape Town

The problem with artificial intelligence is that it is artificial. It will remain so and will never be like the real thing. It is just like artificial honey or artificial wine. If, along with matter and energy, information was counted as a basic building block, we could enhance man's understanding of nature and reconcile theology with science in many ways. It can be shown that even in mathematics, the number of problems that can be formulated is indefinite. There are always questions left to be answered, and there is always room for God. PETER FISCHER Bremen, Germany Via E-mail

Would a machine be able to think about the question Can humans think? CHRYSTELLE GARSON Westmount, Quebec

If machines can think, either we are just machines or thinking is not what defines us as human beings. I wish theologians would take this to heart and stop attributing divine qualities to what most animals and even a few machines are able to do. ANDREW STENGEL Durban, South Africa Via E-mail

From my personal theological experience, I think it is problematic to ascribe human attributes to things that are not human. If two computer personalities like the ones being developed, Cog and CYC, were connected and left alone for 24 hours, would they initiate and carry on a meaningful conversation? What would they talk about? Would they need a translator? Are computers able to scheme and then justify their scheming? If computers acquire a brain or a mind, might they develop a psychosis? I shudder to reflect that computer creators will someday develop both good-think and bad-think machines that will go to war, imitating their human creators. ALAN RICHES Halifax, Nova Scotia

With advancements in technology, you will soon get artificial intelligence and eventually consciousness, but you will never get a computer to fall in love. To do so would be irrational and stupid. But it's wonderful. BEN SOUROUJON Mexico City Via E-mail

I read your article with some amusement and considerable skepticism. The human brain--mind, soul, consciousness--is molded and shaped by the environment to which it is exposed from birth to death. I can just imagine the hard drive of my office computer coming to life after working hours and carrying on conversations and relationships with the other computers. Should I be prepared for an infant computer beeping gleefully beside its mother some morning? This reminds me of the fantasy stories I used to tell my daughter about how her dolls came to life and had fun after the lights went out at night. I daresay the lights were out when this article was written. PAMELA HENDERSON Riverview, New Brunswick Via E-mail

How many consciousness theorists can dance on the head of a pin? The truth is, a mechanical system that is complex enough (living or not) may mimic consciousness without actually being conscious. Your entire article might have been the result of such mimicry, as might this letter. Ultimately there is no way to distinguish real from false except via personal experience. I know I'm conscious, but I can't really speak for the rest of you. Peering into the brain is as futile as peering into a TV set to explain the mimicry of a sunset on the screen. ROY BUTTERFIELD Keighley, England Via E-mail

I believe machines will someday soon be able to think like humans. And when computers lie and kill, they will also be acting like humans. HARRY LAUDIE Pierrefonds, Quebec Via E-mail

Your article is an example of scientists' realizing that there seems to be another dimension to our existence, yet at the same time denying that there can be one. True science examines all the evidence and weighs it impartially. But it seems that evidence is more often weighed out in light of belief of the scientists working on it. It would be good to see scientists more open to the possibility of a power behind our world: God. MARIANNE STAMM Westlock, Alberta

Chess master Garry Kasparov's report on his match with the computer Deep Blue was enchanting. It was a look inside a computer's brain by someone who knows how to do surgery on a person's thinking process. In order to think, computers will need emotion; they will need to feel pain. Thinking is imagination; it is discipline, kindness and love. It is also greed and hatred. Thinking is human. It is logical and illogical at the same time. Thinking is individual. Computers can be made to achieve a goal, but that goal needs to be created by man. Can a computer be an individual? Can a computer be human? I would not have thought that humans had lost to a machine even if Kasparov had been defeated by Deep Blue. But his victory is comforting. AJAY GOYAL Moscow

It amazes me that people would compare human thought to a pure number-crunching operation. Playing chess is number crunching; thinking is an entirely different game. Let me humbly offer a unique test for determining whether a computer can think. I call it the Dylan test. Build two artificial-intelligence machines exactly alike and load them with exactly the same software. Then put some Bob Dylan music for them to listen to. When one machine hates it and the other loves it, you have some real thinking going on. DELIO DESTRO Sao Paulo, Brazil Via E-mail

I.R.A. CAMPAIGN

I am as irritated as anyone else at Sinn Fein's refusal to condemn Irish Republican Army atrocities [WORLD, March 11], and at clumsy attempts by radio and TV commentators to get it to do so. However, there is much more to the matter than merely seeking to establish that there are politically incorrect attitudes among Sinn Fein spokespeople. There is also the effect on the mind-sets of those who organize or execute such atrocities. Every time Sinn Fein officials fail to condemn I.R.A. violence, they are implicitly asserting the right not of only the I.R.A. but also other groups to carry out such actions. Sinn Fein blames Prime Minister John Major for the breakdown of the peace process (and there is enough truth in this to make us all stop and think); Sinn Fein blames the I.R.A. for ending the cease-fire. But must not Sinn Fein itself take much of the blame for the escalating violence and the consequent deaths? DANIEL BENNETT Tyrrellspass, Ireland

SEASONS INSTRUCT US

Pico Iyer in his praise of changing seasons displayed a deep fascination for nature and an understanding so lacking in modern life [ESSAY, April 1]. Oh, how has modern man lost the imagination to capture the awesome rhythm of the seasons, of night and day, light and darkness, sun and moon? It's a poor existence indeed if we cannot find the time to stand and stare at all the loveliness and mystery, small and great, that surrounds us--like the coming of spring. GRAY PHOMBEAH London

WOMEN ON THE FIGHT CARD

I read with interest the article by Steve Wulf on women in the boxing ring [SPORT, April 1]. The fact that women are making their mark as professional fighters should not be construed as a step forward for them. Boxing embodies those elements of society that we should deplore: violence and greed. Can boxing now become a legitimate sport because two women have made the "big time"? I think not! KEN CAMPBELL Winnipeg, Canada

TAIWAN'S VOTERS HAVE SPOKEN

Reading about the tension between China and Taiwan [WORLD, April 1] made me realize just how naive I am. I thought this modern world we live in had learned from its mistakes, that World War II, Vietnam and other such events belonged forever to the past. Now, with Bosnia, Rwanda and the hundreds of other less publicized places where war, torture and oppression rule, it seems that today's world isn't all that different from the one of some 50 years ago. I thought I would be fighting not for peace in a foreign land but for such causes as freedom of speech on the Internet. Unfortunately, the fight for peace is far from being won, if it isn't already lost. DANIL HIRIDJEE Paris

The democracy of Taiwan is special. It is a germ of democracy that will fool China's immune system if China insists on taking us on. David will once again win the battle over Goliath. MING-JING HWANG Taipei Via E-mail

The loud noises made by the Chinese war games have been superseded by the noise of the Taiwan election results. If the Chinese leadership didn't hear it, they must be totally deaf. TONY KETTLE Corner Brook, Newfoundland Via E-mail

GAMBLING BACKLASH

The report of protests against gambling [NATION, April 1] hit the jackpot! Fast-paced, highly addictive casino-type gambling is being pushed onto citizens by the industry and certain political officials across America. Thanks to leaders like activist Thomas Grey, efforts to legalize casinos, riverboats or slots at tracks are being thwarted. The coalition to block gambling extends to many business groups that understand that the discretionary dollar goes only so far. As people spend their money on new gambling games, they are less likely to go to restaurants and movies. CHRISTOPHER J. MCCABE, State Senator Annapolis, Maryland

Critics continually use contrived economic "models" to bolster their attacks against the gaming-entertainment industry. Actual statistical and empirical data from state and local jurisdictions that have adopted gambling show these so-called models to be totally unreliable and inaccurate. Once depressed communities are now enjoying economic growth and prosperity. For example, in Joliet, Illinois, the industry employs approximately 4,000 people with an annual payroll of $86 million, and in Tunica, Mississippi, 10,000 people with an annual payroll of $220 million. These jobs have helped reduce the demand on state and local governments for social-service assistance. Since 1992 Tunica has experienced a 29% drop in the number or residents receiving welfare payments. In New Jersey the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program was cut in half during the 10 years following the introduction of casino gaming in that state. The bottom line is that despite the false and misleading claims of its critics, the gaming entertainment industry has made significant contributions--both economic and social--to the communities where it operates. FRANK J. FAHRENKOPF JR. President and CEO American Gaming Association Washington

You compare the money spent in casinos with that spent on tickets for movies, theater, opera and concerts combined. If people choose to gamble for entertainment, is their enjoyment less legitimate than that of those who choose other types of recreation? If I enjoy going to a casino, is this somehow worse than spending the same amount of money to watch millionaire athletes play some game? ANN MCDONOUGH Kenosha, Wisconsin

WORDS FROM THE I-MAN

Before I heard the rebroadcast of the speech by radio host Don Imus at the Radio & TV Correspondents' Dinner in Washington [NOTEBOOK, April 1], but after I observed the negative media and political reaction, I concluded that the I-Man, my daily radio companion during my commute, had gone too far. After listening to a replay of his entire speech, however, I recommend that Imus be the required speaker at the event every year. Then, perhaps, media personalities and politicians at risk of exposure to his "aggressive" humor would take themselves less seriously and take the responsibilities of their public positions and standards of conduct more seriously. GILBERT W. SANBORN Weston, Connecticut

So guests at the Radio & TV Correspondents' Dinner were shocked at the mean mouth of Imus? Trash talk is his trademark. When a farm animal is invited to a banquet, don't be surprised if he shows up smelling like the barnyard. TOM HOPPENJAN Moline, Illinois

A DEATH TAPE-RECORDED

Teacher Kathleen Weinstein caught on microcassette the conversation she had with her killer [NATION, April 1]. But if she had been packing a handgun instead of a tape recorder, Weinstein would probably be alive today. The only way to deal with a carjacker is to shoot him. No questions asked. WILLIAM G. MAYO Tucson, Arizona