Why Your Brain Hates Slowpokes

The high speed of society has jammed your internal clock. Plus: behind the scenes with “Chasing Icebergs” author Matthew Birkhold; the creative sweet spot of dreaming; how AI can prompt your inner artist; and more. [View in browser]( | [Become a member]( EDITORS’ CHOICE Newsletter brought to you by: February 12, 2023   Did a friend forward this? [Subscribe here](. Good Morning! Here’s some of the most popular stories from Nautilus—and this week’s Behind the Scenes with Chasing Icebergs author [Matthew Birkhold]( below [READ NAUTILUS](   [PSYCHOLOGY]( [Why Your Brain Hates Slowpokes]( The high speed of society has jammed your internal clock. BY CHELSEA WALD Not long ago I diagnosed myself with the recently identified condition of sidewalk rage. [Continue reading →]( Experience the endless possibilities and deep human connections that science offers [SUBSCRIBE TODAY](   [Your Body Has a Lot to Say. Are You Listening?]( Neurons in your brain are [constantly communicating]( with each other. Like these neurons, you can promote optimal health by listening to your body. [InsiderTracker]( makes it easy. The intuitive wellness tool breaks down complex data into customized action plans. Stay in tune with your body and [add years to your life]( with InsiderTracker. [Get Started](   Popular This Week [PSYCHOLOGY]( [The Creative Sweet Spot of Dreaming]( A recently identified stage of sleep common to narcoleptics is a fertile source of creativity. BY KRISTEN FRENCH [Continue reading →]( [TECHNOLOGY]( [How AI Can Prompt Your Inner Artist]( A cognitive scientist on the pleasures of generative image programs. BY JIM DAVIES [Continue reading →]( [GEOSCIENCE]( [The Moon Smells Like Gunpowder]( Why dirt on the moon (and Mars) would be dangerous to live with. BY JILLIAN SCUDDER [Continue reading →]( [NEUROSCIENCE]( [The Strange Brain of the World’s Greatest Solo Climber]( Alex Honnold doesn’t experience fear like the rest of us. BY J.B. MACKINNON [Continue reading →](   [BEHIND THE SCENES]( [Matthew Birkhold Takes Us Behind “The Iceberg Cowboys Who Wrangle the Purest Water on Earth”]( “I’m really fixated on questions of ownership,” Matthew Birkhold said. He attributes this to being an identical twin, having to share basically everything growing up in Minnesota. The idea of who gets what stayed with him, inspiring the subjects of his two books. First was Characters Before Copyright: The Rise and Regulation of Fan Fiction in Eighteenth-Century Germany. “It’s about who owns fictional characters,” he said. “The second book is: Who owns icebergs?” In Chasing Icebergs: How Frozen Freshwater Can Save the Planet, Birkhold, an assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University, argues the question is an increasingly urgent one that desperately needs an answer. “I’m talking to you from Columbus, Ohio, where there is an abundance of really good freshwater for us to use,” he told me in [our recent conversation](. “But that's not the reality for most of the world. If we project into the future a little bit, by 2030, the global demand for freshwater will exceed supply by 40 percent. Currently, 107 countries lack a sustainably managed water source. And two-thirds of the world's population in just seven years are going to face regular water shortages.” In our [excerpt](, “The Iceberg Cowboys Who Wrangle the Purest Water on Earth,” Birkhold explains how humanity can address that demand. “I’m looking at whether icebergs can be a solution to the water crisis that's worsening every year as climate change intensifies,” he said. “The book took me to Newfoundland to look at people who actually try to wrangle icebergs. I think for most of us who live far from the oceans, and who don’t live at the poles, icebergs feel like these looming giants that take down ships like the Titanic. We’ve internalized this lesson—stay away from icebergs—but there are a handful of really brave people who try to collect icebergs and harvest them.” Without them, freshwater icebergs will melt away as they float across the ocean, mixing in with the saltwater. “Two-thirds of freshwater on planet Earth is locked away in the poles and ice caps and glaciers,” Birkhold said. “All we need is a few icebergs to really make a dent into this problem. An iceberg that’s 2000 feet long, and 650 feet wide, could supply all of Cape Town, South Africa, with water for an entire year.” But people who need water may not necessarily get it. Icebergs are largely owned on a first come, first served basis. “If we want to use icebergs to help combat the water crisis, this might not be the best system,” Birkhold said. “If a large company interested in producing bottled water gets to an iceberg first, they’re going to sell bottled water rather than give iceberg water away for free to a city like Cape Town that might be running out of water.” He admitted to imbibing such a bottle of fine water—which cost $150—for his research. “I enjoyed it,” he said. “ From my perspective, it’s quite good. It was very different from the tap water I drink. Do I think we should be selling iceberg water for $150? I don't know. It means icebergs are going to be left to the hands of the elite if we continue to think about icebergs as something precious.” [Watch here](. —Brian Gallagher, associate editor   [“We need to find a way to reset our internal timers and unwarp time.”]( [Chelsea Wald explains how the high speed of modern life is messing with our biological clocks.](   More in Psychology [How Mental Time Travel Can Make Us Better People]( Kindness lives in the future-present. BY KATHERINE HARMON COURAGE [Continue reading →]( [This Drug Can Mend a Broken Heart]( A new therapy promises to take the sting out of traumatic memories. BY SHAYLA LOVE [Continue reading →](   P.S. Today, February 12, is [Darwin Day](, the date the great biologist Charles Darwin, originator of the theory evolution by natural selection, was born in 1809. To celebrate, let’s take a trip through an alternate history of science—one where evolution was not Darwin’s brainchild but someone else’s. Whose? Join Philip Ball on a jaunt through the great ideas of science. [He considers not just Darwin’s replacement but Einstein’s, too](.   Today’s newsletter was written by Brian Gallagher   BECOME A SUBSCRIBER Support Black STEM This February, [Nautilus]( is championing present and future Black scientists. The Nautilus Marketing Team will feature weekly stories on organizations creating more opportunities for young Black innovators in STEM, including Black Girls Do STEM, Jackson State University, and Black Girls Code. We will also donate 10% of all new member subscriptions toward these institutions' initiatives. [Join today]( and support Black scientists and organizations dedicated to actualizing greater diversity in STEM. [Subscribe](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2023 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? 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