The study of phenomena that are so far outside normal experience that they might as well be magic, but with more equations. This includes the search for extraterrestrial life (where is everybody?), the investigation of UFOs (they're probably just drones, but what if?), and the analysis of "anomalous" events that happen once, are never replicated, and generate decades of conferences. Exotic sciences occupy the border between rigorous inquiry and wishful thinking, attracting brilliant minds and people who really want to believe their backyard security camera caught a ghost.
Example: "His career in exotic sciences began when he saw a light in the sky that definitely wasn't a plane, drone, satellite, weather balloon, bird, or known atmospheric phenomenon. It was therefore, by definition, unidentified. He has now spent 30 years at conferences with other people who also saw lights."
by Nammugal February 14, 2026
Get the Exotic Sciences mug.The practice of trying to build things that shouldn't be possible according to known physics, which makes it either the most ambitious or most delusional field of human endeavor. Exotic engineers attempt to construct warp drives (requires negative energy, good luck), stargates (requires a wormhole, also good luck), and anti-gravity devices (requires gravity to be something we can just... turn off). The field attracts brilliant physicists with a rebellious streak and garage tinkerers who have "almost figured it out" for forty years. Both groups share an admirable refusal to accept "impossible" as an answer.
Exotic Engineering Example: "He was an exotic engineer who spent decades in his barn trying to build a cold fusion reactor. He never achieved fusion, but he did develop an excellent method for heating his barn, which he considered a partial success and proof that he was on the right track."
by Nammugal February 14, 2026
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