Caleb Scharf
Life on Earth Is a Sketchy Guide to an Alien Civilization
Any assumptions about properties like intelligence or agency that we make based on what we currently know about life on Earth are on exceedingly shaky ground.Photograph by European Southern Observatory (ESO) / Wikicommons Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . You might imagine that in the midst of a global […]
The Selfish Dataome
Does the data we produce serve us, or vice versa?
My Personal Hero: Caleb Scharf on Michael Storrie-Lombardi
Being a scientist can be like willingly entering into a Roman gladiatorial contest. The hours are long, there’s a rank smell of indentured servitude, and at any minute your colleagues may attempt to eviscerate you for the pleasure of the crowds. Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . A lot […]
It’s Personal: Five Scientists on the Heroes Who Changed Their Lives
Meet the inspiring people—none named Einstein—who helped these scientists find their calling.
Is Physical Law an Alien Intelligence?
Alien life could be so advanced it becomes indistinguishable from physics.
Life Beyond the Pale Blue Dot
Our own oasis of life in the cosmos is blue, but will others be?
Don’t Write Off ET Quite Yet
It’s true that we haven’t seen alien life, but neither have we seen much of the universe.
Can You Ever Really Know an Extraterrestrial?
Knowledge about aliens might be as dangerous as the aliens themselves.
How the Cold War Created Astrobiology
Life, death, and Sputnik.
Goodbye Copernicus, Hello Universe
Our insignificance, and significance, on a cosmic scale