<p>There is lots of opportunity here for jokes about generational differences, as both Csikszentmihalyi and I were born before generational names were even invented, but I will go straight to the answer. It was probably in the 1960s that Nautilus was the brand name of one of the first manufacturers of home exercise/weight machines. In those days there weren't any exercise clubs to join, and, if you didn't like the YMCA scene, then the only option was to buy a set of barbells, which were clumsy and not well adapted to many muscle groups. The Nautilus machine filled that economic gap and became very popular; you see their many descendants in all the exercise clubs today. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-28T21:42:55.500Z
Great! That sounds more plausible.  +1
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-29T14:26:29.447Z
[Indeed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus,_Inc.)
got trolled too much this week
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2019-04-28T20:34:41.557Z
2019-04-28T20:34:41.557Z
John Day
<p>I'm not sure that this is the best site for the question but given it is a psychology book I figured better here than nowhere.</p>

<p>I'm reading flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and on page 47 the following quote is made:</p>

<p>“they will go on diets, join health clubs, do aerobics, buy a Nautilus, or undergo plastic surgery.”</p>

<p>What i meant by "Buy a Nautilus"? I've never heard of someone acquiring the shelled invertebrate as a response to stresses of life, in my entire existence, and based on my research a $10,000+ watch isn't a "normal" response either so i'm not sure what is being communicated in this sentence.</p>

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2019-04-28T09:16:13.037Z
Haha.  Definitely +1 for the question: well-motivated, referenced, and with prior research. But, you might be right it is off-topic here. We will see what others think. I'm inclined to keep it as I wouldn't know where to migrate it to.
Steven Jeuris
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2019-04-28T15:18:26.303Z
it's probably talking about some long-forgotten gadget, not the invertebrate. Notice the capitalization. It might even be a reference to [Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus_(Verne)). Or maybe the Patek Philippe Nautilus (a watch).
got trolled too much this week
<flow>
What does Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi mean by Nautilus?
Sidharth Ghoshal
# What does Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi mean by Nautilus?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-28)

I'm not sure that this is the best site for the question but given it is a psychology book I figured better here than nowhere.

I'm reading flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and on page 47 the following quote is made:

“they will go on diets, join health clubs, do aerobics, buy a Nautilus, or undergo plastic surgery.”

What i meant by "Buy a Nautilus"? I've never heard of someone acquiring the shelled invertebrate as a response to stresses of life, in my entire existence, and based on my research a $10,000+ watch isn't a "normal" response either so i'm not sure what is being communicated in this sentence.

**Tags:** flow

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Haha.  Definitely +1 for the question: well-motivated, referenced, and with prior research. But, you might be right it is off-topic here. We will see what others think. I'm inclined to keep it as I wouldn't know where to migrate it to.  
> **username_2**: it's probably talking about some long-forgotten gadget, not the invertebrate. Notice the capitalization. It might even be a reference to [Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus_(Verne)). Or maybe the Patek Philippe Nautilus (a watch).  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-04-28. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

There is lots of opportunity here for jokes about generational differences, as both Csikszentmihalyi and I were born before generational names were even invented, but I will go straight to the answer. It was probably in the 1960s that Nautilus was the brand name of one of the first manufacturers of home exercise/weight machines. In those days there weren't any exercise clubs to join, and, if you didn't like the YMCA scene, then the only option was to buy a set of barbells, which were clumsy and not well adapted to many muscle groups. The Nautilus machine filled that economic gap and became very popular; you see their many descendants in all the exercise clubs today.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Great! That sounds more plausible.  +1  
> **username_2**: [Indeed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus,_Inc.)  

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