Philonatura - future topics - nature, ecology, science

Dear Friend

Welcome to my blog, philonatura, meaning love of nature. I hope to share with you my deep-seated respect for nature, natural philosophy (science), humanity and my own work area of expertise which includes formulating with natural ingredients for natural products. I also look forward to your comments from which I no doubt will learn a great deal. My topics reflect those areas that I have found so meaningful, but are almost always neglected in schools and are rarely properly addressed in other venues. The themes usually fall into one of four broad categories:

1) Ecology

2) Sociobiology – The biological origin of how living things think and act

3) Arcane, but essential science, mathematics and history

4) The Meaning of Life

Some of my topics include:

• Hidden meanings of PI, e, The Golden Ratio
• Global Warming – Fact or Fiction?
• Are men really attracted to their mothers or just Freud?
• Dimensional Similitude – The most stunning scientific phenomenon that you’ve never heard of
• Can an atheist really be ethical?
• Nature vs. Nurture – Who is the Winner?
• Postpartum Depression – Why it’s a natural, evolutionary phenomenon, not an illness and how to deal with it
• The inherent conflict between in-laws
• Do scientific explanations, e.g. understanding how a rainbow is formed, destroy our appreciation of underlying beauty?
• Pre-industrial society; was it really a paradise?
• Is beauty only skin-deep? Is there one ideal and does it vary between cultures?
• What’s the fundamental difference between a conservative and a liberal?

Enjoy

Daniel Rudy

Why do we love Nature? - The Straight Dope

Have you ever wondered why we love the great outdoors? Why do we think natural ingredients are usually better. There is a simple and logical answer.

Simply look at what we Humans are, and where we came from. We evolved in the savannas of Africa. From there, we spread out to the four corners of the world. Africa is not a jungle, nor is it a desert. That may be why we like our landscaped yards to have some trees, water etc., but in a Goldilocks way, not too much and not too little. In other words, our preferred surroundings are in tune with our more recent evolutionary forward burst, which occurred in Africa.

That's also why we trust natural ingredients more than synthetic ones. While this natural, first order approach is reasonable, it is not the complete answer. It's also where almost all so-called natural ingredients people get lost.

Remember, our natural surroundings were far from perfect. Think about not having vaccines for our children, no anesthetics for having a tooth pulled, dangerous predators lurking around every corner and limited food sources. Modern technology has brought us many advantages and largely eliminated these awful experiences, at least in the developed world. But, we must also never forget our roots.

So the bottom line is that the optimal strategy is to both respect what we get from nature via our genes, and to also respect the more comfortable surroundings that technology has brought us. If a synthetic ingredient in a product, be it a shampoo or a cake has been found to be safe in reasonable quantities, under reasonable circumstances, then we should not automatically shun it.
Nor should we forget that natural is often the best route.