💡 Can Trees Heal You?; Black Holes, Teacups, and Demons; Top Science News, and More

The latest from Nautilus, the top science news, and more. [View in Browser]( | [Join Nautilus]( Did a friend forward this? Sign up here Together with Hello there Nautilus readers, and thanks for popping in. Today we dive deeper into The Reality Issue, with a philosopher showing us how thought experiments illuminate the hairiest problems of science. Plus, a look at the ability of natural environments to destress and recharge us. And in the news: Neolithic creative genius, a Pong-playing gel, and more. Like many of you who read our obituary of Helen Fisher, I took the Fisher Temperament Inventory and, to my surprise, was deemed to be mostly Analytical/Tough-minded—a personality characterized by “confidence, aggression, and rule based thinking” that leads people to be “competitive and direct.” True, but I’m also a curious soul at heart! Check out today’s question (on your go-to nature stroll) and free story (on posture) below. Stay cool. — Brian Gallagher The latest from Nautilus How Teacups and Demons Help Demystify Physics The thought experiments illuminating black holes and other scientific problems. [Continue Reading→]( Can Trees Heal You? How walking in the woods changes your brain. [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 top science news this week • Scientists discover that a 5,000-year-old work of monumental stone architecture was a “unique example of creative genius and early science among Neolithic societies.” [Read on Science Advances→]( • Scientists created a gel that knows how to play Pong—and gets better with practice. [Read on The Guardian→]( • Galaxies in the early universe that seemed to break models of cosmic evolution with their apparent size, aren’t so massive after all. [Read on NASA→]( • Ancient footprints discovered in Africa and South America that look identical suggest that, 120 million years ago, dinosaurs traveled along a type of highway spanning the two continents when they were still one. [Read on CNN→]( • Scientists can detect an object’s quantumness by taking its temperature. [Read on ArXiv→]( *Indicates sponsor/partner content. Thank you for supporting our sponsors. WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... Where is your go-to place for a local nature stroll? 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 “Can Trees Heal You?” [Read on Nautilus→]( Top answers to our previous question: On Your Personality Type I am definitely pro-social and empathetic, having spent the majority of my 50-plus working years in education and, secondly, in the Canadian prison systems, provincially and federally. Yet I left the “so-called” corrections systems very disillusioned due to its complete lack of effort in understanding the clients, much less their backgrounds, needs, and positive attributes. By comparison, the public school system was empathetic, fair, and encouraging. – Louise M. I’m “Curious/Energetic,” which would equate to your “Explorer” category. No surprise—I knew by the age of 6 that I wanted to travel the world, and my hubby and I have done that for 45 years. We have an informal series of lists: how many continents we’ve been to, countries, famous rivers, archeological sites, modes of transportation, etc., which I think sums up our vibe pretty well. – Erica J. On Where You’d Live as a Hermit I would choose July to August in the lowland temperate rainforests of the Olympic peninsula in Washington State. There are numerous sources of food, including a wide variety of berries (salmonberries, huckleberries, blueberries) as well as access to marine shellfish (e.g., oysters and clams). There are very few things that could kill you (pumas could, but there are ways to avoid them). There are few mosquitos, only small spiders and snakes, and tons of moss to lay on. There is also access to freshwater in glacial rivers even in the dry season. It is warm and one of the quietest places in the United States. You could hide pretty easily amid the giant trees, massive nurse logs, and abundance of vegetation given that most people flock to the tourist centers and few people go off-trail. It would be glorious. – Carrie W. Win a Chance to Have Your Nature Photos Featured in Nautilus—and More! Submit your best nature photos to “[Biodiversity: Through the Lens](” before August 31st and they could be featured during Art Basel Paris, in Nautilus online, and on Discover Earth’s IG account. [Enter here]( Today’s unlocked free story PHILOSOPHY How Posture Makes Us Human The philosophy and science of standing up straight. BY SANDER L. GILMAN The very notion of what in the ancient world defines the human being in contrast to all other living things is simple: upright posture. [Continue reading]( P.S. The German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born on this day in 1770. For Hegel, [posture is at the core of the aesthetic impulse](. He developed a theory of posture as one of the keys to understanding being not only as self-­determining reason but as rationally organized matter. “The human being is the rational product of the reason embodied in nature. And that, for Hegel, is to no small degree keyed to ‘man’s upright posture,’” wrote cultural and literary scholar Sander L. Gilman. “The moment we cease to wish to act, our posture collapses and we revert to the primitive, to the childlike. This is a simple restatement of the complex theological notion that standing upright makes the pre-Edenic human into a volitional being, able to judge right from wrong.” 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](