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Maps

By Liz Greene
June 8, 2020

science and culture for people who love beautiful writing.

“Usefulness” may be a utilitarian term but it does the job of capturing what’s remarkable about maps, and what inspires this issue of Nautilus—illuminating the signs and symbols, notably language, that imperfect humans employ to represent reality.

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Cutting-edge science, unraveled by the very brightest living thinkers.

Philosophy

Meet My Pal, the Ancient Philosopher

Arts

Reviving Mayan Blue

Technology

AI Is the Black Mirror

An Earthy Fallen Star
- By Liz Lindqwister
- July 29, 2024
- Environment
The strange mushroom that puffs life into forests around the world.
Inside an Exploded Star
- By Kristen French
- February 22, 2024
- Astronomy
Cassiopeia A gets a close-up.
Automatic for the Oceans
- By Brian Gallagher
- June 30, 2022
- General
A rock trio on the rise is raising environmental awareness.
Join Nautilus Live—Get the Truth About Sun Exposure
- By Nautilus Editors
- June 5, 2014
- General
Join us at noon on Monday, June 9, when editor in chief Michael Segal will host a live video chat with award-winning journalist and NYU professor, Jessica Seigel about her latest Nautilus piece, “America Is Getting the Science of Sun Exposure Wrong.” Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . There […]
Forest for the Trees—Why We Recognize Faces & Constellations
- By Robert X.D. Hawkins
- May 19, 2014
- General
A Ganado-style Navajo rugNational Park Service Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . For many thousands of years, and across cultures around the world, symmetry has been seen as beautiful. The mirror-image accuracy of the Parthenon is seen also in the Taj Mahal and the geometric patterns of traditional Navajo […]