💡 Claude Shannon, the Las Vegas Shark

The latest from Nautilus and the wider world of science. [View in browser](| [Join Nautilus]( Together with Did a friend forward this? [Subscribe here.]( Hello there Nautilus reader, and thanks for dropping by. Today there are four creatures impressing us with their weaponized bodily fluids—blood, spit, and venom aren’t usually this explosive. Plus, we have a good mix of science news to check out. (Was T-rex primate-smart? Who likes intensely sour food?) Your question today is on gambling, and be sure to check out your free story (on cheating at gambling) below. Until next time! —Brian Gallagher The latest in Nautilus [ZOOLOGY]( [The Animals That Turn Bodily Fluids into Weapons]( Four explosive tales of blood, spit, and venom. BY KRISTEN FRENCH Combat in nature is often a matter of tooth and claw, fang and talon. But some creatures have devised devious and dramatic ways to weaponize their bodily fluids, expelling them in powerful streams for the purposes of attack or self-defense. [Keep on reading]( DISCOVERIES The Top Science News This Week [How Smart Was T-Rex?]( Some paleontologists argue the fearsome predators were long-lived animals equipped with “macaque- or baboon-like cognition.” Here’s what the evidence supports. [The Anatomical Record→]( [Secret to Eternal Youth? John Cleese Extols Virtues of Stem Cell Treatment]( He credits his two-decade use of the therapy for looking “not bad” for his age, but longevity treatments have moved on. [The Guardian→]( [All Engineering Is Evolution]( The case for a new kind of engineering that “leans on different philosophical assumptions, where change, uncertainty, emergence, and complexity are built in.” [Nature Communications→]( [Why Political Partisans Let Misinformation Slide]( Findings from surveys suggest that voters justify BS and “factual flexibility” from politicians as an effective way of proclaiming a deeply resonant political “truth.” [Carnegie Mellon University→]( [Study Says California's 2023 Snowy Rescue from Megadrought Was a Freak Event. Don’t Get Used to It]( “I would not be surprised if 2023 was the coldest, snowiest winter for the rest of my own lifetime in California.” [The Washington Post→]( [Long Snouts Protect Foxes When “Mousing” Headfirst in Snow]( The animal’s skull is angular enough to have the soft powder behaving like water. [Cornell Chronicle→]( [The Link Between Loneliness and Conspiratorial Thinking]( People who say they’re really lonely as teenagers, and those who feel increasingly lonely over their 20s, 30s, and 40s, have a higher tendency to believe in conspiracies. [Nature Communications→]( [Do You Like Extremely Citric Treats?]( One in eight Italian and American adults enjoy intensely sour food. [Penn State→]( WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... What’s the most memorable gamble you’ve ever taken? 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 [“Claude Shannon, the Las Vegas Shark.”]() Top Answers to Our Previous Question(On Whether We Should Respond to a Signal from Space) • Since most of us humans are notorious for having a superficial understanding of just about everything, perhaps an outside influence would help us gain a broader perspective of life and living, as well as provide benefits similar to those provided by biodiversity. – Louise M. • Absolutely! Warn them we are a warring planet. They need to know. If they are the same, they won’t signal, they will attack. – Margaret W. • It depends. If it’s a friendly signal (similar to the one we sent on Voyager) then we should respond. After all, they probably have already detected one of our stray signals. All other signals, such as a repeating pulse, then no, we don’t know enough. Just observe. – Joe L. Your free story this Tuesday! [MATH]( [Claude Shannon, the Las Vegas Shark]( The father of information theory built a machine to game roulette, then abandoned it. BY JIMMY SONI & ROB GOODMAN Many of Claude Shannon’s off-the-clock creations were whimsical—a machine that made sarcastic remarks, for instance, or the Roman numeral calculator. [Continue reading for free→]( The Rockstar and the Squid Coming from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in western Washington, musician Katherine “KP” Paul, of Black Belt Eagle Scout, has a deep personal connection to the ocean. That’s why she was the perfect choice to read Alex Riley’s special [story]( about the search for a giant, mysterious, luminous squid—Taningia danae. We love this story because it shows how little we know about our deep oceans, and how even an animal sporting giant, flashing lights, can remain virtually unknown…until now. For the first time, you can listen to a Nautilus story on [YouTube]( or [Spotify](. Check it out and let us know what you think. [WATCH]( [LISTEN]( P.S. The mathematician, computer scientist, and electrical engineer Claude Shannon—father of information theory—was born on this day in 1916. His home basement lab, fellow MIT researcher Ed Thorpe recalled, was a “gadgeteer’s paradise.” Shannon was playful and inventive. When he and Thorpe were [designing a way to game a casino roulette table](, they ended up in Shannon’s basement lab, where there were all manner of doodads. “As a joke, he built a mechanical finger in the kitchen which was connected to the basement lab. A pull on the cable curled the finger in a summons,” Thorpe recalled. “Claude also had a swing about 35 feet long attached to a huge tree, on a slope. We started the swing from uphill and the downhill end of the arc could be as much as 15 or 20 feet above the ground. … Claude’s neighbors on the Mystic lake were occasionally astounded to see a figure ‘walking on the water.’ It was me using a pair of Claude’s huge styrofoam ‘shoes’ designed just for this.” 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: NautilusNext360 W 36th Street, 7S,New York, NY 10018 Don't want to hear from us anymore? [Unsubscribe](