Time Flows Toward Order

[View this email in your browser]( December 3, 2020 Chapter Three: Universe [READ ISSUE]( Dear Nautilus Reader, Few, if any, scientists have disagreed with the great astrophysicist Arthur Eddington’s warning, “If your theory is found to be against the second law of thermodynamics I can give you no hope; there is nothing for it but to collapse in deepest humiliation.” Fortunately for Nautilus readers this week, physicist Julian Barbour does not take Eddington’s warning to heart. Barbour writes the arrow of time is not flying toward disorder, and spells out a new theory of what’s happening in the universe. Also: A few years ago neuroscientist Rodrigo Quiroga made a splash in the science pages with his “Jennifer Aniston neuron” theory, the idea that specific brain cells represent highly detailed concepts, be they objects or people, and memory doesn’t work as textbooks long described. Now he’s back with a sequel that goes further into how memory makes humans unique in the animal world. And finally, five of our favorite scientists share stories of their biggest influences. [Time Flows Toward Order]( [Revisiting the gospel of the second law of thermodynamics.]( [By Julian Barbour]( [The one law of physics that virtually all scientists believe will never be found to be wrong is the second law of thermodynamics.]( Paid Advertisement [With frontline workers still struggling to secure enough life-saving PPE it's up to all of us to help. Nautilus has partnered with Armbrust USA, an American manufacturer of FDA-listed, ASTM-3 surgical masks, to donate PPE to those who are putting their lives on the line. Donate Here]( [Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV]( [Is memorizing a string of words a key to what makes the human brain unique?]( [By Adithya Rajagopalan]( [Imagine that someone asked you to come up with a sequence of five words. In any other year, some idiosyncratic combination would likely come to mind.]( Nautilus Print Edition [Subscribe to Nautilus]( for great insight into scientific questions and discoveries that impact your life now and for generations to come. [Five Scientists on the Heroes Who Changed Their Lives]( [Meet the inspiring people—none named Einstein—who helped these scientists find their calling.]( [By Alan Lightman, Hope Jahren, Robert Sapolsky, Priyamvada Natarjan, & Caleb Scharf]( [Several years ago, I attended a Buddhist retreat in which I was introduced to the idea of the “retinue,” a constellation of influential and supportive people whom one imagines in an enveloping cloud as one meditates.]( [READ ISSUE]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [Website]( Copyright © 2020 NautilusNext, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website. Our mailing address is: NautilusNext 25 Broadway 9th FloorNew York, NY 10018 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.