Top 5 xci: Nautilus Magazine

Quotes from the March/April 2022 issue

1. Kevin Berger on science: “I love the paradox of science. The more it explains, the more mysteries it reveals. Those mysteries present further problems to be solved. It’s a brilliant form of progress. Which is heartening to realize. Science is life. It tells us there’s always more to see, more to learn. Pointedly that also applies to us, the oddest things on the planet.” (From his editor’s note)
2. Chaz Firestone and Brian Scholl on the mind: “There is no one way the mind works, because the mind is not one thing. Instead, the mind has parts, and the different parts of the mind operate in different ways: Seeing a color works differently than planning a vacation, which works differently than understanding a sentence, moving a limb, remembering a fact, or feeling an emotion.” (quoted in Deep Learning Is Hitting a Wall )
3. Mary X. Dennis on grief: “[Katherine] Shear’s work does not focus on the grief itself, but rather on helping a grieving individual adapt to the loss… When important people are lost, it is critical to distinguish between the loss of the person and the loss of the relationship…. To prevent the bereaved from losing the vital attachment completely, Shear helps people to remodel it in their minds—to internalize it.” (From Why I Couldn’t Get Over My Brother’s Death )
4. Klaus Schwab and Thierry Malleret on imagination: “Imagination is a glorious attribute. When its infinite possibilities are harnessed, it corresponds to a form of ‘superpower’ from which every human being can benefit, individually or collectively. It’s easy to understand why: Every resolution of a problem begins with a bit of imagination. Conversely, many problems occur because of the failure to imagine that they could.” (From The Power of Narrative )
5. Andrea Pitzer on the Arctic: “The farther north one goes, the smaller the distance between countries that border the Arctic, and the greater the pressure and possibilities for cooperation. But in the face of war, international partnerships have frozen or foundered.” (From How Putin’s War Is Sinking Climate Science )