💡 How Schrödinger’s Cat Got Famous

The latest from Nautilus, this week’s Facts So Romantic, and your question of the day. [View in browser](| [Join Nautilus]( Together with Did a friend forward this? [Subscribe here.]( Hello there Nautilus readers, and thanks for dropping in. Today we learn how Schrödinger’s cat got famous. (Hint: It wasn’t Schrödinger.) Plus, in this week’s Facts So Romantic—what we’re doing to the biosphere doesn’t compare to this, what fantasy and physics have in common, and more. Check out your question of the day (on what to make of quantum reality) and free story (on dreaming about being naked) below. Have a good one! —Brian Gallagher The latest in Nautilus [PHYSICS]( [How Schrödinger’s Cat Got Famous]( Fifty years ago, science-fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin popularized physics’ most enigmatic feline. BY ROBERT P. CREASE The world’s most famous cat seems to be everywhere—and nowhere. [Continue reading→]( Get Microplastics Out of Your Water Microplastics are everywhere. They’re in our water, our glaciers—even our clouds, as [this Nautilus story]( reports. They’re impossible to avoid completely, but you can take steps to reduce them in your life, and a [Brita UltraMax Pitcher with Elite Filter]( in your fridge is a good first step. The [Brita Elite Filter]( is certified by the National Science Foundation to reduce microplastics in your drinking water. Pick one up today and give yourself some peace of mind. [Buy on Amazon→]( More from Nautilus [ENVIRONMENT]( [How Sound Rules Life Underwater]( Amorina Kingdon’s 3 greatest revelations while writing Sing Like Fish. BY AMORINA KINGDON [Continue reading→]( FACTS SO ROMANTIC The 5 Best Things We Learned Today What human beings are doing to the biosphere right now is nothing compared to what blue-green algae did to the biosphere 4 billion years ago. [Nautilus→]( Ursula K. Le Guin wrote in her journal that fantasy as a genre and physics as a science are approaches to reality that reject common sense. [Nautilus→]( Fish evolved the first ears. [Nautilus→]( An AI chatbot tricked a clickworker to solve a CAPTCHA by pretending to be blind. [PNAS→]( Astronomers have detected carbon in a galaxy that emerged shortly after the Big Bang, raising the possibility that the conditions for life were present almost from the dawn of time. [The Guardian→]( Healing the Ocean With Art Visit [Colossal]( to see the breathtaking wildlife photos of the [‘100 for the Ocean’]( campaign, where world-renowned photographers showcase their work to fund ocean restoration. [Visit Colossal]( WE'RE CURIOUS TO KNOW... What interpretation of quantum mechanics makes the most sense to you? 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�€œ[How Schrödinger’s Cat Got Famous](.”[)]( Top Answer to Our Previous Question(On Your Most Memorable Experience of Being Impulsive) • If impulsivity is acting without forethought it has to be either rock climbing or playing rugby (both for many years) where every move is frankly too risky. – William J. Your free story this Thursday! [PSYCHOLOGY]( [Why You Keep Dreaming About Being Naked]( Are the common elements in our dreams the result of basic biology, or something deeper? BY ELIZABETH SVOBODA “I was naked. So was Laura,” begins one dream of the more than 20,000 collected in G. William Domhoff’s DreamBank. [Continue reading for free→]( QUOTE OF THE DAY “Putnam called it ‘absurd’ to say that human observers determine what exists. But he was unable to refute the idea.” [Robert P. Crease writes about the origins of Schrödinger’s Cat.]( Sometimes You Just Click Culture is what connects us. No one knows that better than childhood friends Olu and WowGr8 of the experimental hip hop duo EarthGang. That’s why they were the perfect choice to read Claudia Geib’s [story]( “Clicking with Your Kin” about the special sounds sperm whales use to identify their clans. “Music is one of the characteristics that distinguishes different cultural groups amongst us humans, and helps us to identify ourselves — a trait that, as this research suggests, we seem to share with sperm whales,” Geib told us. “As such, it feels particularly appropriate to have a musical duo reading this story. Thanks to EarthGang for this fantastic reading. I'd love to see your collab with the whales themselves next!” You can now [watch]( or [listen]( to EarthGang read Geib’s story. [WATCH]( [LISTEN]( P.S. The Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung died on this day in 1961. Jung was obsessed with symbols. “Only the symbolic life can express the need of the soul,” he once told an audience. He believed this symbolic life is shared among humans and animals in the form of a collective unconscious, wrote Elizabeth Svoboda, and expressed through a set of [universal images and motifs that can appear in dreams](. He “filled a secret diary with his own dreams and fantasies,” published 48 years after his death under the title Red Book. 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](. 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](