💡 Magic Died When Art and Science Split

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 readers, and thanks for being here. Today we hear from Renée Bergland about how magic died when art and science split. Plus, in the news: Did space gas cause an ice age? And do elephants call each other names? I’m keen on seeing some interesting variety in your responses to today’s question (on being “in the zone”). Your free story below considers what inalienable rights aliens might have. Enjoy! 👽 —Brian Gallagher The latest from Nautilus [HISTORY]( [Magic Died When Art and Science Split]( Renée Bergland’s 3 greatest revelations while writing Natural Magic: Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and the Dawn of Modern Science. BY RENÉE BERGLAND In college, Charles Darwin studied to become a priest, not a biologist. He did not have much choice. When he was a student, Cambridge University did not offer degrees in biology (or any other science). Although extracurricular lectures were available, the scientific subjects that interested Darwin were not highly valued. [Keep on reading]( DISCOVERIES The Top Science News This Week [Will AI Chatbots Make Political Microtargeting Super Persuasive?]( New findings cast doubt on widespread speculations about the power of personalized ads. [PNAS→]( [Reading Dies in Complexity]( Online news consumers prefer simple writing. [Science Advances→]( [African Savannah Elephants Call One Another by Name]( Elephants in Kenya approached more quickly, vocalized sooner, and made more sounds when they heard playbacks of their “name-like calls” addressed to them compared to other elephants. [Nature Ecology & Evolution→]( [What Did the Giraffe’s Long Neck Evolve For?]( Food, sex—maybe both? [Mammalian Biology→]( [Watch SpaceX’s Starship Booster Ace Its Splashdown for the First Time]( Is that a buoy camera? [Mashable→]( [Outside the Solar Cocoon]( “Could a massive cloud of cold, interstellar gas have pushed the sun’s protective heliosphere away from Earth two to three million years ago, causing an ice age?” [Harvard Magazine→]( [Early Morning Frost Spotted on Some of Mars’s Huge Mountains]( Thin dusting of water ice appears to form overnight in summit craters and evaporate after sunrise, scientists say. [The Guardian→]( [A New Way to Make Green Steel]( To meet demand from automakers and builders, startups are processing iron ore without using fossil fuels. [The Wall Street Journal→]( Grow Your Own Organic Mushrooms Fungus is a vital part of our ecosystem. It’s also delicious, as [this Nautilus article]( explains. With the [Organic Shiitake Mushroom Kit]( from [Back to the Roots](, you can grow your own fungus—indoors or outdoors. Just keep it misted and 100% organic, non-GMO mushrooms are guaranteed to grow in about 10 days. The [Organic Shiitake Mushroom Kit]( is also the perfect gift for dads who like to grow and cook their own food. [BUY ON AMAZON]( WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... When was the last time you felt like you were “in the zone,” or in a “flow state”? 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 ‘Hot Hand’ Is Not a Myth”]() Top Answers to Our Previous Question(On Using the Internet for the First Time) • I first used the internet for email with colleagues at other research sites, and later for transferring software projects. Thoughtful writing was more productive and less expensive than the telephone. It drove home the point that everything depends on good communication skills! And those are rare! – Roger V. • I used to love searching for video-game walkthroughs. When I was stuck on a level, walkthroughs would give me a second wind and keep my attention further for gaming. Very hard for me with ADHD! – Torrey R. • Without a doubt my very early internet use expanded my social network through interest forums and “personals” websites of various types. Nearly everyone in my social sphere today is directly or indirectly linked to these early uses. – Louise M. • I had a genetics professor who provided students with a URL to access the class notes. I only owned a word processor at the time, so I rode my bike to the campus library and met a friend enrolled in the same class. I was completely clueless, never having owned a computer. We worked together to print the notes, exploring the various browsers available at the time. I found the entire concept intriguing, but inconvenient. My indifference to the concept was short-lived; I ended up becoming a web developer a couple of years later. – Mel M. • [On the prior question about being impulsive]: I decided in a hot New York minute that I would support my (ex) husband in an adventure to buy a medieval Castle in France and fill it with exhibitions of contemporary art, and open it to the public. That was 20 years ago. Now he lives in Texas with his young girlfriend and I’m living in the castle with dragons, a unicorn, and other creatures in my medieval bestiary! Pfttt! Crazy—I know… but it seems to be working. – Heidi L. Your free story this Tuesday! [ASTRONOMY]( [Do Aliens Have Inalienable Rights?]( What ET teaches us about our moral obligations. BY PETER SINGER Last January I was walking with my granddaughter along a beach near Melbourne when we noticed several people gathered around a rock pool, peering into the water. [Continue reading for free→]( Get 15% Off a Nautilus Membership for Father’s Day What better way to connect with your father than by sharing the science storytelling you love? From now through Father’s Day you can gift your dad [a digital Nautilus membership]( for 15% off. Nautilus’ engaging science storytelling is the gift that keeps giving year-round. Save money and make your dad proud! [Get 15% Off]( P.S. Steven Spielberg’s film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was released on this day in 1982. The moral philosopher Peter Singer would use E.T. as a thought-experiment to [challenge students to reconsider their speciesism](—the still widely held assumption that the boundary of our species is also the boundary of beings with rights, or with interests that we ought to take seriously. “So far, the only nonhumans we have encountered are animals, plants, fungi, and microscopic living things such as protozoans, bacteria, algae, and spirochetes,” Singer wrote. “When we consider the moral status of these organisms, our thinking is likely to be biased by our own interests in using them, especially as sources of food, or in avoiding being made ill by them.” 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](. 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