💡 The Psychology of Getting High—a Lot

What’s popular and new this week in Nautilus. [View in browser](| [Join Nautilus]( EDITORS' CHOICE Together with Did a friend forward this? [Subscribe here.]( This Sunday, read the latest and most popular stories from Nautilus—plus your free story and question of the day below [ZOOLOGY]( [The Shark Whisperer]( Donald Nelson spent his life undoing the damage that Jaws did to the perception of sharks. BY KATHARINE GAMMON In the 1970s, when a young filmmaker named Steven Spielberg was researching a new movie based on a novel about sharks, he returned to his alma mater, California State University Long Beach. [Continue reading →]( Popular This Week [ASTRONOMY]( [Lithium, the Elemental Rebel]( What a missing element can teach us about the universe. BY PAUL M. SUTTER [Continue reading →]( [MATH]( [The Man Who Invented Modern Probability]( “Science is probably the best thing humans ever invented. Academia, on the other hand…” BY SLAVA GEROVITCH [Continue reading →]( The latest from Nautilus [PSYCHOLOGY]( [The Psychology of Getting High—a Lot]( Time to extinguish the slacker cliche. BY MICHAEL INZLICHT [Continue reading →]( [ASTRONOMY]( [Nine Rebel Astronomy Theories That Went Dark]( Bright ideas from astronomy’s biggest stars haven’t always worked out. BY TOM METCALFE [Continue reading →]( ADVERTISEMENT WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... What’s your most memorable encounter with a creature of the sea? Let us know! Reply to this newsletter with your response, briefly explaining your choice, and we’ll reveal the top answers. (This question was inspired by [“The Shark Whisperer.”](). Top Answers to Our Previous Question (On the One Non-Human Species You Would Communicate With) • If I could only converse with one other animal, I would choose a corvid, possibly a rook. I do talk to them already. I reckon that if we had a common language, I’d get on well with a rook. – Roisin P. • Why restrict my choices to animals? I’d have a human-paced conversation with a California redwood. – Nick P. • I would speak to the then currently most threatened species and come to an agreement on how it might be saved. – Bill J. The Tree of Life: A Love Letter to Nature [PhotoVogue's 2024 Global Open Call]( invites artists worldwide to share works that celebrate nature's beauty and resilience. If you’re a photographer or videographer with a passion for the natural world [your work could be included in the 2024 PhotoVogue Festival in Milan]( and featured in an issue of Vogue. Additionally, the two artists who submit the most compelling and meaningful work will be granted $5,000 each. [The deadline for entry is April 29th](, so follow the link below for additional details. [Learn More]( Your free story this Sunday! [GEOSCIENCE]( [The Fly in the Primordial Soup]( Hydrothermal vent models transform the origins of life from unlikely to near-inevitable. BY NATHANIEL COMFORT I arrived on the second day of creation. [Continue reading for free→]( Step into the Void “Somewhere across the plain of imminence, shouting into the void …” That’s singer Nate Hardy from the second track of Microwave’s latest album Let’s Start Degeneracy. Voids—of the emotional sort—are a recurring theme across the album from the cheekily self-described “adult mid-tempo psychedelic contemporary rock band from Atlanta, GA.” It’s fitting then, that Nate has chosen to read [this story]( from one of our most prolific contributors, theoretical cosmologist Paul M. Sutter. Sutter tells us, “This story about voids is deeply personal to me, as voids have always struck a chord with me and been the focus of my scientific research. But there's so much more to the concept of nothingness than just their physical manifestation, and it's beautiful to hear echoes of that search in Nate's narration.” You can now [watch]( or [listen]( to Hardy read Sutter’s story “Why We Need to Study Nothing.” [WATCH]( [LISTEN]( Today’s newsletter was written by Brian Gallagher Thanks for reading. [Tell us](mailto:brian.gallagher@nautil.us?subject=&body=) your thoughts on today’s note. Plus, if you find our content valuable, consider [becoming a member]( to support our work, and inspire a friend to sign up for [the Nautilus newsletter](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2024 NautilusNext, All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from [nautil.us](. Our mailing address is: NautilusNext 360 W 36th Street, 7S, New York, NY 10018 Don't want to hear from us anymore? [Unsubscribe](