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- Your faucet, your years, and Antarctica's "Doomsday Glacier" all have something to tell you
Your faucet, your years, and Antarctica's "Doomsday Glacier" all have something to tell you
The Point by Modern Sciences - June 17, 2026
Don Smith
June 17, 2026
By The Modern Sciences Team | June 17, 2026 |
Hello Wednesday, Cultivators of Curiosity!
Volume 23 of The Point by Modern Sciences takes you underground, into the ocean, and into your own head.
First, we look at geothermal energy; a power source that's been sitting beneath our feet the whole time, and is now drawing billions in investment, including from a surprising source: old oil and gas wells. Then we head to Antarctica, where scientists have just detected hundreds of previously hidden earthquakes at the edge of the glacier that could do the most damage to global sea levels if it gives way. Finally, we turn inward to ask why time feels like it's speeding up, and what your brain is actually doing when a year disappears in what feels like a blink. Three very different scales, one shared theme: things are happening beneath the surface that are worth paying attention to.
ENGINEERING
Geothermal energy has huge potential to generate clean power – including from used oil and gas wells
Geothermal energy runs 24/7, produces almost no emissions, and could power up to 15% of the world's electricity by 2050. New techniques are even turning America's millions of abandoned oil and gas wells into clean energy sources. With billions in fresh investment and falling costs, geothermal is emerging as a reliable, scalable complement to solar and wind power.
The Point:
Geothermal energy offers something solar and wind cannot: constant, reliable power: Tapping heat from deep within the Earth provides round-the-clock electricity with minimal emissions, and projects like Fervo Energy's Cape Station in Utah are on track to deliver hundreds of megawatts of baseload carbon-free power within just a few years.
Old oil and gas infrastructure is finding new life as clean energy: With as many as 4 million abandoned wells across the U.S., engineers are repurposing this existing infrastructure for enhanced geothermal systems, dramatically cutting the cost and environmental disruption compared to drilling new wells from scratch.
Investment and falling costs are turning geothermal into a serious contender: Public funding for North American geothermal projects has surged past previous years' totals, and the International Energy Agency projects that costs could fall to levels competitive with other renewables by 2035, positioning geothermal as a cornerstone of a stable, low-carbon grid.
EARTH
Hundreds of iceberg earthquakes detected at the crumbling end of Antarctica’s Doomsday Glacier
Scientists have discovered over 360 previously undetected glacial earthquakes near Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier, nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier for its potential to raise sea levels by three meters if it collapses. These quakes, caused by capsizing icebergs, cluster around a period of accelerated ice flow between 2018 and 2020, offering new clues about the glacier's vulnerability to ocean conditions.
The Point:
A new detection method revealed hundreds of hidden glacial earthquakes: By using seismic stations located directly in Antarctica rather than relying on the global monitoring network, researchers uncovered more than 360 previously uncatalogued glacial earthquakes, most concentrated near the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers.
The Doomsday Glacier shows signs of ocean-driven instability: Most of the detected quakes near Thwaites Glacier occurred during a 2018 to 2020 period of accelerated ice flow confirmed by satellite observations, suggesting that changing ocean conditions, rather than seasonal temperature shifts, may be driving the glacier's most unstable behavior.
The findings raise the stakes for understanding future sea-level rise: Because Thwaites alone could raise global sea levels by three meters if it collapsed, better understanding of how ocean, ice, and bedrock interact at its edges could help resolve major uncertainties in sea-level rise projections over the coming centuries.
HEALTH AND THE BODY
Why is time going so fast and how do I slow it down?
Ever wonder why the years feel shorter as you get older, even though each day can drag? Neuroscience explains that our brains don't actually perceive time; they infer it by tracking how much happens. Novel experiences create rich memories that make time feel longer in hindsight, while routine and boredom distort our sense of time in opposite directions.
The Point:
The brain doesn't perceive time, it infers it from how much happens: Unlike colour or sound, there is no physical "time particle" for the brain to detect, so it estimates duration after the fact by measuring how dense and eventful its memories of a period are, which is why intense experiences like falling or car accidents seem to stretch out in hindsight.
Attention explains why time crawls in the moment but flies in memory: Time spent bored or waiting feels slow because attention is focused directly on the passage of time itself, while time spent absorbed in engaging activity feels fast in the moment but later seems to have lasted longer, thanks to richer memory formation.
Routine is the real reason adult years feel like they vanish: As novelty fades with age and daily life becomes repetitive, fewer vivid memories are formed, so when the brain looks back at year's end it concludes that little happened—and the simplest fix is deliberately filling the year with new experiences worth remembering.