Shankar Vedantam
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Podcast Appearances
always on the lookout for coyotes, porcupines, skunks, badgers, bears, mountain lions, and worst of all, humans with unleashed dogs.
In my opinion, your guest maybe hasn't spent enough time in natural settings where there are very real dangers such as wild animals and crazy humans that realize they can get away with anything because there is no one around to call for help.
Walking in nature is not a panacea.
Is there a risk that many of us romanticize nature?
We heard from a listener named K-Bird who talked about how dealing with the cycles of nature can help us see the cycles in our own lives.
On her birthday, following a very painful divorce, she visited a peaceful mountain spot to spend the day.
It was October with a bright blue sky and gorgeous autumn leaves, but suddenly sheets of rain started pouring down.
When we come back, should you take your important business meeting in the woods?
Mark Berman is a psychologist at the University of Chicago.
He is the author of Nature and the Mind, the science of how nature improves cognitive, physical, and social well-being.
Mark's research has found that humans are profoundly drawn to features that are found in nature, not just trees and grass and water, but more abstract and subtle elements.
In one study, for example, he and his colleagues showed volunteers pictures of different types of buildings, some with curved edges and some with straight edges.
What you're saying here, Mark, is that even when we are in human designed environments like buildings, we can still gain some of the benefits of the natural world if these buildings are modeled after nature.
A similar theme that listeners brought up is that not everyone has easy access to the great outdoors.
If you live in a city, maybe it's hard to get to a wooded area.