Nautilus

Fame’s Troubling Ability to Turn Off the Brain

ame may be an unavoidable aspect of reality, an inherent part of the human condition, or just a quirk in the minds of some smart, social primates. In any case, it brings with it big problems. Here is the trouble with fame: It too often makes the recipient of it prone to hubris, and it even more often makes the rest of us blind to such hubris. Let me explain by way of an example. It’s all fine and dandy—if a bit unseemly—to spend time

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Nautilus

Nautilus6 min read
A Scientist Walks Into a Bar …
It sounds like the setup to a joke: When I was starting out as a stand-up comedian, I was also working as a research scientist at a sperm bank.  My lab was investigating the causes of infertility in young men, and part of my job was to run the clinic
Nautilus7 min read
The Part-Time Climate Scientist
On a Wednesday in February 1938, Guy Stewart Callendar—a rangy, soft-spoken steam engineer, who had turned 40 just the week before—stood before a group of leading scientists, members of the United Kingdom’s Royal Meteorological Society. He had a bold
Nautilus4 min read
Why Animals Run Faster than Robots
More than a decade ago a skinny-legged knee-less robot named Ranger completed an ultramarathon on foot. Donning a fetching red baseball cap with “Cornell” stitched on the front, and striding along at a leisurely pace, Ranger walked 40.5 miles, or 65

Related Books & Audiobooks