Oct 3, 2023
Kristy Hamilton visits Google to discuss her book “Nature's Wild Ideas: How the Natural World is Inspiring Scientific Innovation”. The book is a deep-dive into nature and the many groundbreaking human inventions inspired by the wild.
When astronomers wanted a telescope that could capture X-rays from
celestial bodies, they looked to the lobster. When doctors wanted a
medication that could stabilize Type II diabetic patients, they
found their muse in a lizard. When scientists wanted to drastically
reduce emissions in cement manufacturing, they observed how corals
construct their skeletons in the sea. This is biomimicry in action:
taking inspiration from nature to tackle human challenges.
In “Nature’s Wild Ideas”, Kristy Hamilton goes behind the scenes of
some of our most unexpected innovations. She traverses frozen
waterfalls, treks through cloudy forests, discovers nests in the
Mojave desert, scours intertidal zones and takes us to the deepest
oceans to introduce us to the animals and plants that have inspired
everything from cargo routing systems to non-toxic glues, as well
as the men and women who followed that first spark of “I wonder”
all the way to its conclusion. While the joy of scientific
discovery is front and center, “Nature’s Wild Ideas” is also a love
letter to nature—complete with a deep message of conservation: If
we are to continue learning from the creatures around us, we must
protect their untamed homelands.
Visit YouTube.com/TalksatGoogle to
watch the video.