A Natural History of the Future

Abstract

Book Review| March 01 2023 A Natural History of the Future: What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species A Natural History of the Future: What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species. By Rob Dunn. 2021. Basic Books. (ISBN 9781541619302). 320 pp. Hardcover, $30. E-book, audiobook, and trade paperback also available. Kirstin Milks, Kirstin Milks Department Editor Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Frank Brown Cloud Frank Brown Cloud Department Editor public scholar, Bloomington, Indiana fcbrowncloud@protonmail.com Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar fcbrowncloud@protonmail.com The American Biology Teacher (2023) 85 (3): 175. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2023.85.3.175 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Kirstin Milks, Frank Brown Cloud; A Natural History of the Future: What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species. The American Biology Teacher 1 March 2023; 85 (3): 175. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2023.85.3.175 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search Recently, I attended a science museum fundraiser. It was an awkward experience for me: I don’t enjoy conversations that can be squeezed into two minutes in a loud venue, and my economics training has left me with strong feelings about the relationship between commercial enterprise and charity. But my spouse was the event’s keynote speaker, so I donned a suit and tried my best to smile and be nice. During her speech, Kirstin asked everyone to draw instructions for making toast. She wanted to show the broad diversity of STEM-type thinking that people use in their day-to-day lives, even if they don’t (yet!) identify as a scientist or engineer. Ah, toast. I’d just read Rob Dunn’s excellent A Natural History of the Future, which includes a charming (and chilling) anecdote about breadmaking. Bread needs only flour, water, salt … and a microscopic starter of yeast. In healthy ecosystems, yeast... You do not currently have access to this content.