Issue_27
24 articles-
A Letter To Our Readers
Dear Nautilus reader, Nautilus Members enjoy an ad-free experience. Log in or Join now . With your help, we’ve had an amazing first two years: Two National Magazine Awards, a Webby for best science website, and more than a dozen other awards. Nearly 10 million readers through our website. Print subscribers in 40+ countries.What a […] -
The Supervolcano Under Yellowstone is Alive and Kicking
There’s enough hot rock to fill the Grand Canyon nearly 14 times. -
How Utter Darkness Could Heal Lazy Eye
The email from a professor offered an unusual spring break adventure: Come spend five days in complete darkness. To Morgan Williams, then a sophomore at Swarthmore College and a psychology major, it sounded like a great way to spend his vacation week. “I’m not really one for going to the beach,” he says.For those five […] -
This Legendary Deep-Sea Fish Sighting Continues to be Debated After 60 Years
Once, while fishing for salmon, I hooked a clam. It fought bravely, and when I finally pulled it from the water I could see that I hadn’t just snagged it, as you might expect, but that it had taken the bait willingly. These are minor points; what matters here is that the clam, so different […] -
Is There Awareness Behind Vegetative States?
Imagine that a loved one, let’s say your brother, has suffered a serious brain injury. After languishing in a coma, he finally “emerges”—that is, he cycles between sleep and wakefulness, yanks his hand away when it’s pricked, is startled by loud noises, and so on. But it’s not clear that he’s ever truly awake; his […]
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The Search for Eclipses as Perfect as Earth’s
This classic Facts So Romantic post was originally published in September, 2013.Roughly twice a year, the apparent positions of sun and moon coincide, and a fortunate few observers are treated to a solar eclipse. Watching such an event provides the opportunity to contemplate a strange coincidence: From the surface of Earth, the apparent sizes of […]
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Finding a Metaphor for the Perfect Amount of Creativity
As an illustrator, I often struggle to decide how far I should push the boundaries of creativity. I’ve noticed that there is a fine line between art that is accessible to my peers and art that is accessible to everyone. And I don’t always know where to draw that line.In a Nautilus post, Jim Davies […]
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The Dawn of Life in a $5 Toaster Oven
How a homemade piece of lab equipment is recreating chemical evolution on early Earth.
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Why You’re Biased About Being Biased
The more we convince ourselves that we don’t have certain biases, the more likely we are to exhibit them.
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Read the Lost Dream Journal of the Man Who Discovered Neurons
An exclusive look at the dreams Santiago Ramon y Cajal recorded to prove Freud was wrong. -
Why The World Isn’t As It Seems
Take a close look at the floor tiles in the scene below. First, focus your attention on the tile directly below the potted plant, in the shadow of the table. Then, look at the tile to the right, outside of the table. Which of these tiles is brighter? The left one?Wrong. In fact, as you […] -
The Hidden Warning of Fall Colors
Did autumn reds and yellows evolve to repel insects? -
The Caveman Guide to Parenting
Every evening as the sun sets, Robb Wolf begins his nightly ritual: While his two daughters play, he slowly dims the lights, just a few lumens every 20 to 30 minutes, until the house, in Reno, Nevada, is dark. The family is asleep before 8 p.m. and awake before dawn, as Wolf imagines our ancestors […] -
The Reinvention of Black
As the means of creating the color black have changed, so have the subjects it represents.
