Sir

In your News & Views article 'Schizophrenic electrons' (Nature 450, 492–493; 2007), electrons are called 'schizophrenic' because they display split personalities. This inappropriate use of metaphor perpetuates a misunderstanding of a serious illness. Multiple personalities are not a feature of schizophrenia. Rather, schizophrenia is characterized by a combination of 'positive' and 'negative' symptoms. The positive symptoms include delusions, hallucinations and thought disorders, whereas the negative symptoms include social withdrawal, flattened affect and lack of motivation.

I am willing to concede that electrons may have personalities; even that some electrons have split personalities. But to claim that electrons are 'schizophrenic' would require evidence beyond that described in the article.