💡 The Dark Underbelly of the Near Future

The latest from Nautilus, the top science news, and more. [View in Browser]( | [Join Nautilus]( Did a friend forward this? Sign up here Hello there Nautilus readers, and thanks for being here. Today we have the dark underbelly of the near future. Plus, in the news: Where did our “hobbit”-like ancestors come from, and is there a feasible way to warm up Mars? And more. One of the most uncanny experiences I’ve had came while I was pitching in little league: The batter hit a line drive right at me, so I ducked to avoid the ball. I turned to see my teammates looking confused, then felt something round in my jersey. The ball had somehow snuck through the top of my shirt as I bent down to dodge the hit! I grabbed the ball from inside my jersey and threw it to first to complete the improbable double play. Check out today’s question (on personalized ads) and free story (on nature’s end) below. Have a good one! — Brian Gallagher The latest from Nautilus The Dark Underbelly of the Near Future Helen Philips, author of a new work of speculative fiction called Hum, on finding hope in the midst of dystopia. [Continue Reading→]( Don’t limit your curiosity. Enjoy unlimited ad-free Nautilus stories every month for less than $5/month. [Join now]( Find Out Why Mushrooms Are Punk “Mushrooms are the outcasts of the natural world. Inherently, they are punk.” That’s artist and designer Bella Lalonde—founder of the fashion label Beepy Bella—writing about her longtime love of mushrooms. In collaboration with Nautilus, Lalonde created a combination zine and foraging guide, [Mushroom Punks](, after an outing with fungi expert Bat Vardeh in the mountains of southern California. Inspired by mushroom hunting field guides of the past, [Mushroom Punks]( chronicles their excursion, weaving together photos taken by Lalonde, Vardeh’s expert commentary, and an illustrated catalog of the fantastic fungi they discovered along the way. Best of all, [Mushroom Punks]( can be yours for only $15. [Buy now]( *Thank you for supporting our sponsors. The top science news this week • Where did our “hobbit”-like ancestors come from? Newly analyzed fossils suggest the diminutive humans descended from Homo erectus, among the first ancient humans to leave Africa around 1.9 million years ago for the Indonesian island of Flores. [Read on CNN→]( • Releasing nanoparticles might prove better than greenhouse gasses at warming up Mars. [Read on Science Advances→]( • Interestingly, when people harm robots on purpose, they anthropomorphize and dehumanize them. [Read on Communications Psychology→]( • An astronomer surveyed his French colleagues on how science fiction inspired their careers studying space, and examined how art—like movies and video games—could help people understand new astronomical discoveries. [Read on ArXiv→]( • Why popular online content sometimes distorts true public opinion. [Read on Psychological Science→]( *Indicates sponsor/partner content. Thank you for supporting our sponsors. WE ARE CURIOUS TO KNOW... What are some notable goods and services that personalized ads are trying to entice you to buy online? 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 “The Dark Underbelly of the Near Future.” [Read on Nautilus→]( Top answers to our previous question: On an Uncanny Experience One summer afternoon, there had been a rain shower that left the air fresh. I looked at the clouds and saw a rainbow strangely close by. I followed its arc and to my amazement, the rainbow came down nearby. I headed toward the floating colors. They were suspended droplets or possibly bubbles, each revolving in various shimmering rainbow colors. I drove through the rainbow, a distance of about 30 or 40 feet, discovering that it stopped short of the ground and just above my car. I turned around and drove under it again, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, I’m sure. Nature’s fleeting jewels hung above me as if on invisible strands from the sky, each one appearing to be about the size of a Christmas ornament. I drove under it again and again, while keeping back tears. – Marie L. The evening of my wife's grandmother's funeral we retired early, after an exhausting day. Around 3 am, I was jolted awake. I witnessed a human figure, totally black with no visible features, walking slowly across my bedroom. The edges of the body looked like black flames as it was moving its arms back and forth. “What are you doing here?” I screamed. The figure exited through a wall. My wife yelled, “What's going on?” When I told her what happened, she said, “Oh my God! I was just dreaming about my grandmother.” – Wes B. A Night Under the Stars with Cassandra Jenkins and Nautilus Indie artist Cassandra Jenkins created a [custom planetarium light show]( for her latest album and we had a front row seat. Find out what is was like [here](. [Read more]( Today’s unlocked free story PSYCHOLOGY How We Cope with the End of Nature As our environment crumbles, we seek solace in animatronic moose. BY STEPHEN MARCHE Solastalgia is the definitive disease of the 21st century but only a few even know its name. [Continue reading]( P.S. The English statistician and founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale died on this day in 1910. In her Notes on Nursing from 1863, she noted the positive effects of patients being able to look out a window, and of “beautiful objects, of a variety of objects, and especially of brilliancy of color.” She thought having “something natural at your bedside would help you get better,” wrote Stephen Marche. “[She wasn’t wrong](.” 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. You were subscribed to the newsletter from [nautil.us](. Our mailing address is: NautilusNext 3112 Windsor Rd, Ste A-391 Austin, TX, 78703 Don't want to hear from us anymore? [Unsubscribe](