Nature, nurture, lifestyle choice, whatever. Will we ever truly find out what makes us LGBTQ? The subject of science interfering with sexuality in nature crops up rather too often, and today has given a new paper bag to scream into thanks to gay conversion's number one cheerleader and general reminder that bigots never have to search too hard for a platform, Ann Widdecombe, and her assertion on national TV that science may well "provide an answer" for those wishing to "switch sexuality". As ever,  I find myself puzzling over science's fascination with...

What do spoons mean to you? Nothing, perhaps. Maybe beyond their primary functions of stirring tea, shovelling yoghurt into your mouth or, if you’re so inclined, cooking up your drugs on, they hold no value or emotion for you. I think – no, I know – that is the correct, default option. But for me they seem to be more than that. I was at my mother’s in Yorkshire recently and she was showing me her new cutlery. It was nice, modern, but it meant she needed to clear out...