💡 Feeling Gravity’s Pull

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 being here. Today we drop in on a lively conversation between two theoretical physicists on how to ground abstract ideas about gravity. Plus, we learn what it’s like to fall down a rabbit hole in real life. And in the news: Enjoying cocaine was an earlier pastime than we thought. And how much of Earth’s biodiversity do Indigenous peoples really safeguard? And more. Moments of realization aren’t easy to come by, so thanks for sharing your experiences in response to our last question. I felt like I understood my mom better when I left to live on my own in New York for the first time—she left Peru for the United States when she was 17, looking for a better life. Check out today’s question (on a strange syndrome) and free story (on becoming illiterate) below. Until next time! — Brian Gallagher The latest from Nautilus Feeling Gravity’s Pull Two theoretical physicists have a lively conversation about how abstract concepts can feel down-to-Earth. [Continue Reading→]( Falling Down a Rabbit Hole in Real Life Neurologists are just beginning to understand Alice in Wonderland syndrome. [Continue Reading→]( Don’t limit your curiosity. Enjoy unlimited ad-free Nautilus stories every month for less than $5/month. [Join now]( Wake up to Good News [Nice News]( is a positive news platform centered around a daily news digest sent to your inbox each morning. We filter your news for positivity, bringing stories to the forefront that are often overshadowed by other major headlines. Through [these stories](, we hope our readers can see the world through a new lens. [Wake up happy]( *Thank you for supporting our sponsors. The top science news this week • A popular and influential factoid—that 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity is protected by Indigenous peoples—isn’t true. [Read on The Guardian→]( • When people share personal experiences of racism on social media, both algorithms and humans disproportionately flag them to decrease their visibility. [Read on PNAS→]( • A rumble in the Earth echoed around the world for 9 days last year, and scientists just pieced together that it was the result of a mega-tsunami wave that traveled back and forth, creating a standing wave called a seiche, in a Greenland fjord. [Read on the Washington Post→]( • Europeans were enjoying cocaine in the early 1600s, around 200 years before a German chemist isolated the drug from the coca plant. [Read on the Journal of Archaeological Science→]( • Scientists find that introducing forests in urban areas could significantly reduce heat-related deaths as temperatures in many cities rise across the globe. [Read on Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University→]( *Indicates sponsor/partner content. Thank you for supporting our sponsors. WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... Have you experienced anything like the symptoms of Alice in Wonderland syndrome? 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 “Falling Down a Rabbit Hole in Real Life.” [Read on Nautilus→]( Top answers to our previous question: On Truly Getting Somebody I was talking with a new colleague and we stumbled on the topic of our experiences growing up with single immigrant mothers. We both found out we shared the same burden of having to be their personal translators: calling the car insurance company for them; needing to sometimes take time off school if they had an appointment that couldn’t be done outside school hours; getting calls while on shift to text over an email reply so she can just copy and paste it, and hit send. Being able to relate with someone other than my sibling was comforting. I’m not ungrateful for this part of my childhood. Despite it being a burden sometimes, it’s enabled me to mature and develop greater empathy for those whose first language isn’t English. – Yu A friend, Rod, met with an associate who brought along his friend from Brazil, who lived in a village near the Amazon. This woman spoke some English but Rod was anxious to talk to her about a favorite fish of his, the piranha. He excitedly questioned her, wanting to learn more about them and their habits. She was just aghast by his inquiry and left abruptly. Rod sought out his associate to understand what he had said to make her leave. He was then informed that piranha was slang for “prostitute” in her village! – Maryann S. Make Every Day More Interesting Want to know why flamingos are pink, where it rains diamonds, and what’s actually in a camel’s hump? You’re in [the right place](. [Sign up]( Today’s unlocked free story HEALTH What My Stroke Taught Me The surprising, quiet nourishment of losing my internal monologue. BY LAUREN MARKS In my memories of the Scottish hospital, the sky is always blue, though I know that can’t be completely accurate. [Continue reading]( P.S. The English writer Agatha Christie, author of dozens of detective novels, was born on this day in 1890. It was during an attempt to read one of Christie’s stories when writer Lauren Marks [realized she couldn’t read anymore](. “With this simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar book in my hands, I first took in the actual loss of words,” she wrote. “For my entire life, language had been at the forefront of every personal or professional achievement, and very few things had brought me as much joy and purpose. If I had ever been warned that I might be robbed of my ability to read, even for a limited amount of time, it would have been a devastation too cruel to bear. Or so I would have thought. But a day did come when I couldn’t read the book in front of me, when paragraphs appeared to be nothing more than senseless jumbles, and the way I actually processed this massive loss was surprisingly mild.” 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. 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