PHYSICS FOR CATS

For some years now, Tom Gauld has been alternating between weekly chronicles of the literary arena in The Guardian and affectionate portrayals of the scientific community in New Scientist. While the two worlds sometimes intersect, particularly through the unexpected intervention of mischievous jetpacks and robotic librarians, let's welcome an animal into this small world that should be universally popular: the cat. An indispensable companion for any self-respecting reader, the cat is also the ideal reverie companion for scientists: a perfect receptacle for the most daring hypotheses, it lends the most attentive ear to their unusual theories. Always patient (or slightly drowsy from napping), it is undoubtedly the best comrade for these brilliant minds in perpetual effervescence. The problem is, you never really know if it's listening to what you're saying. But isn't that an old habit for scientists? Abandoned by the media, mistreated by politicians, ignored by the layman, researchers tirelessly warn about the state of living things, participate in the deconstruction of old clichés, and develop the world of tomorrow, but all this in general indifference... More than ever, they need cuddles, and cats, just like Tom Gauld's hilarious comic strips, are there for that.