💡 The Harrowing and the Beautiful

The latest from Nautilus, the best things we learned today, and more. [View in Browser]( | [Join Nautilus]( Did a friend forward this? Sign up here Together with Hello there Nautilus readers, and thanks for stopping by. Today we bring you a personal essay by composer Michael Hersch. The Washington Post has called Michael a musician of “uncompromising brilliance.” His music has been described by The New York Times as “viscerally gripping and emotionally transformative.” Both comments also perfectly describe Michael’s essay. Plus, we dive into psychedelic experiences that seem to transcend the brain, and remember the late Helen Fisher, who showed us how we’re wired for love. Also, some of the best things we learned today—art and hope, scrolling and boredom, and more. I’m not sure I could live like a hermit—perhaps as a monk, though, in a monastery carved out of the top of a mountain. Check out today’s question (on your personality) and free story (on a famous quotation) below. Until next time! — Brian Gallagher The latest from Nautilus The Harrowing and the Beautiful In the darkest reality, this celebrated composer finds his voice. [Continue Reading→]( Out of Your Head Exploring psychedelic experiences that seem wider than the brain. [Continue Reading→]( Helen Fisher Knew Love She showed us the biology behind the rhyme and reason of our most intense feelings. [Continue Reading→]( Don’t limit your curiosity. Enjoy unlimited ad-free Nautilus stories every month for less than $5/month. [Join now]( Unlock the Secrets of Your Genetic Origins for Only $35 The [MyHeritage DNA kit]( lets you test your DNA to reveal valuable information about your family history and ethnic origins—all with a simple cheek swab. With the [MyHeritage DNA kit]( you can: - Discover your origins across 2114 regions. - Find new relatives through shared DNA. - Uncover your family history. Right now, the [MyHeritage DNA kit]( is marked down from $89 to $35 but the offer ends August 28th, so pick up your kit today and start exploring your genetic history. [Buy now]( *Thank you for supporting our sponsors. The best things we learned today - No artwork can be without hope since it is in the very nature of creative work to be optimistic, if only in as much as we continue to work through everything but our own death. [Read on Nautilus→]( - India’s Pragyan rover has gathered new evidence supporting a long-standing theory of lunar history—that the moon was once a hot ball of magma that had broken off Earth. [Read on Nature→]( - The neocortical regions of the brain that are activated when we’re angry, anxious, or self-critical seem to be sidelined under a psychedelic, which creates a more “open” psychological state. [Read on Nautilus→]( - Scrolling through online videos out of boredom apparently makes people even more bored. [Read on the Washington Post→]( - The brains of people who have recently experienced some kind of romantic rejection look like those who have struggled with addictions from cocaine or gambling. [Read on Nautilus→]( WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... What type of personality do you have—Explorer, Builder, Director, or Negotiator? Take the [Fisher Temperament Inventory]( to find out, and tell us if you agree! Send us your answer! Reply to this newsletter with a brief explanation of your response, and we’ll reveal the top answers in a future newsletter. This question was inspired by “Helen Fisher Knew Love.” [Read on Nautilus→]( Top answers to our previous question: On Where You’d Live as a Hermit The “hermit” has been known to inhabit such diverse places as mountaintops, dense forests, and deep cypress swamps. I, however, want none of these. A futuristic spacecraft, with only my best dogs for companions and an immortal existence for us, would be my choice. Time to roam the universe, and any other, amid the countless ages. Discovering all there is to see, but maintaining my solitude with my best friends, until I’ve truly seen it all. – Thomas O. I’d go somewhere fairly central in a modern developed city, such as New York or London. Any needs could be met by deliveries, with minimal personal interaction if any, and anonymity is easy in such places—if you aren't doing anything to attract attention, people pay you none. Unless you have Bear Grylls-style survival skills, traditional hermit hangouts require deliveries of food at least, and probably entail more interpersonal communication, even if silent. – Ian P. Middle Earth (aka New Zealand) would be an amazing respite from society. Miles and miles of solitude, but I’m still able to receive Nautilus emails. – Nick P. Join Nautilus in the French Alps for the 10th Anniversary Edition of the [Summit of Minds]( Nautilus is heading to Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France from September 13 – 15 for an [ideas festival]( with nature at its heart—and you can join. [Sign up here]( Today’s unlocked free story COMMUNICATION 44 Years of Debating the First Words Ever Spoken on the Moon It’s amazing that we aren’t uncertain about words more often. BY VERONIQUE GREENWOOD Perhaps no recorded phrase has been so heavily analyzed, so dredged for missing information, as Neil Armstrong’s words when he took his first step on the moon. [Continue reading]( P.S. The American astronaut Neil Armstrong died on this day in 2012. He was not only the first person to walk on the moon, but to utter the first words there as well: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” [Or was it “a man”?]( That would make more sense given the historic context—and Armstrong’s Ohioan accent. Veronique Greenwood wrote about a linguistic study that concluded that “it’s very likely that Armstrong thought, and spoke, the words ‘for a,’ but his accent rendered the phrase so that to the ears of nearly everyone else, it sounded like ‘for.’” Thanks for reading! What did you think of today's note? Inspire a friend to [sign up for the Nautilus newsletter](. Copyright © 2024 NautilusNext, All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from [nautil.us](. Our mailing address is: NautilusNext 3112 Windsor Rd, Ste A-391 Austin, TX, 78703 Don't want to hear from us anymore? [Unsubscribe](