What do you think?
Rate this book
The Weight of Nature: How a Changing Climate Changes Our Brains
A riveting, revelatory account of how the climate emergency is changing us from the inside out.
It is now inarguable that climate change threatens the future of life on Earth. But in The Weight of Nature, award-winning journalist and neuroscientist Clayton Page Aldern shows that the warming climate is not just affecting our planet – it is affecting our brains and bodies too.
Drawing on seven years of ground-breaking research, Aldern documents a burgeoning public health crisis that has gone largely unreported. Eco-anxiety, he shows us, is just the tip of the iceberg. The rapidly changing environment is directly intervening in our brain health, behaviour, decision-making and cognition in real time, affecting everything from spikes in aggravated assault to lower levels of productivity and concentration, to the global dementia epidemic. Travelling the world to meet the scientists and doctors unravelling the tangled connections between us and our environment, and reporting the stories of those who are already feeling these shifts most keenly, Aldern shows how climate change isn’t just around us, but within us.
Lucid, urgent and at times deeply moving, The Weight of Nature is a revelation, bringing to light the myriad ways in which the natural world tugs and prods at the decisions you make; how it twists and folds your memories and mental states; how this nebulous everywhere we call the environment is changing our very humanity from the inside out.
It is now inarguable that climate change threatens the future of life on Earth. But in The Weight of Nature, award-winning journalist and neuroscientist Clayton Page Aldern shows that the warming climate is not just affecting our planet – it is affecting our brains and bodies too.
Drawing on seven years of ground-breaking research, Aldern documents a burgeoning public health crisis that has gone largely unreported. Eco-anxiety, he shows us, is just the tip of the iceberg. The rapidly changing environment is directly intervening in our brain health, behaviour, decision-making and cognition in real time, affecting everything from spikes in aggravated assault to lower levels of productivity and concentration, to the global dementia epidemic. Travelling the world to meet the scientists and doctors unravelling the tangled connections between us and our environment, and reporting the stories of those who are already feeling these shifts most keenly, Aldern shows how climate change isn’t just around us, but within us.
Lucid, urgent and at times deeply moving, The Weight of Nature is a revelation, bringing to light the myriad ways in which the natural world tugs and prods at the decisions you make; how it twists and folds your memories and mental states; how this nebulous everywhere we call the environment is changing our very humanity from the inside out.
Audible Audio
First published April 9, 2024
70 people are currently reading
6283 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
June 19, 2024
I wish I read this with a friend so we could talk after every chapter. There’s so much to unpack, but still a digestible read that’s insightful and thoughtful without being unnecessarily dense - which is a massive compliment to a book that so expansively intertwines complex ideas and research into very human and beautifully articulated elements.
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1645808644i%2F7494844._UX200_CR0%2C6%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
November 4, 2024
A riveting and troubling read speculating the future—how climate change will affect not just our world, but our minds and bodies.
Aldern weaves complex systems together in a manner digestible to the average mind. Definitely a book that I probably shouldn't have read on the eve of the 2024 election, since I'm already stressed out and this made it no better.
Aldern weaves complex systems together in a manner digestible to the average mind. Definitely a book that I probably shouldn't have read on the eve of the 2024 election, since I'm already stressed out and this made it no better.
February 20, 2024
Nature is changing in more ways than we realize. Author Clayton Page Aldern describes some truly frightening phenomena that are increasing due to warming oceans, wildfire air pollution, and much more. In my readings of articles in my favorite magazines, "National Geographic" and "Scientific American," I know that an incredible amount of work on saving our planet is being done by organizations and individuals, but we are in a battle for our very existence, and we MUST increase our knowledge and our actions exponentially if we are to succeed. Aldern gives us new information about what we are facing. Don't read this book if you prefer to stick your head in the sand and remain ignorant. If you want to be part of the solution, arm yourself with the information in this outstanding book.
October 2, 2024
Admittedly, I’m not very interested in climate as a topic. Perhaps it is the political rhetoric.
However, this book was deep on the science and there were so many facts about the effects of higher temperatures on humans and animals. I pondered many of these after each chapter, including that with high temps; pitchers are more likely to hit batters, judges are less lenient, students do worse on tests, etc. This was true even if the buildings had air conditioning.
However, this book was deep on the science and there were so many facts about the effects of higher temperatures on humans and animals. I pondered many of these after each chapter, including that with high temps; pitchers are more likely to hit batters, judges are less lenient, students do worse on tests, etc. This was true even if the buildings had air conditioning.
March 9, 2024
I think I need to take a break from reading climatology books for awhile. They just make me sad, angry and depressed. There are simple changes to help excessive CO2 like changing what you eat, but food and what people eat is a heavy topic; everyone has an opinion. The grains being used to fatten up animals used in animal agriculture can be used to feed to feed the global population. That is just for starters....
There are just too many people globally using non-rewable resources like water. Do not even get me started about the destruction/pollution of the oceans.
Cutting down trees for other human needs when trees naturally absorb/protect us from CO2..
People globally do not want to admit that were also entering the era of the 6th extinction. General population does not realize if bees go extinct, that is the end of fruits, veggies, and most products used on a daily basis. Bees need protection.
This book tackles all these topics and more. It is just so sickening and depressing to think the planet is screwed.
Recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley, Clayton Page Aldern and Columbia Univeristy Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available:
4/9/2024
There are just too many people globally using non-rewable resources like water. Do not even get me started about the destruction/pollution of the oceans.
Cutting down trees for other human needs when trees naturally absorb/protect us from CO2..
People globally do not want to admit that were also entering the era of the 6th extinction. General population does not realize if bees go extinct, that is the end of fruits, veggies, and most products used on a daily basis. Bees need protection.
This book tackles all these topics and more. It is just so sickening and depressing to think the planet is screwed.
Recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley, Clayton Page Aldern and Columbia Univeristy Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available:
4/9/2024
January 2, 2025
It's not at all a tough sell: The tendrils of climate change strangle every corner of the Earth; bleaching the seas, poisoning the topsoil, and incinerating the forests. Why *wouldn't* they impact our fragile, human brains?
As a book like The Heat Will Kill You First details (the single most required text for climate change that I've read in what is admittedly not a lengthy canon), so much of the danger in our environments is how interconnected everything is, how silent killers are tethered by invisible domino lines snaking over the world.
An abnormally hot day metabolizes local termite populations causing them to draw out the moisture in trees as they sate their turbo-charged appetite, and suddenly your forest is a tinderbox. If you put 100 of them in a room and asked them to name their top 100 threats on days of extreme heat warnings, how many people would think to even mention termites as a major danger of climate change? We are still finding numberless new ways for climate change to kill us like Agent 47 in a Hitman level.
The point being: My mind is open to new, terrifying ideas. Nothing is off the table.
That said, here is an area without a ton of usable meat on the bone. To extend the metaphor, there are some gripping, well-researched (I suppose the whole thing could be described that way, even the parts I don't care for) morsels about shifting baseline syndrome, the neurotransmitter activity related to forgetting, and brain-eating amoeba spawning in our overheated lakes.
Mostly though, there is fat. Lots of fat.
It mostly comes from Aldern's writing style, which is repetitive and far too preoccupied with delivering a lyrical flourish or a succinct bow that ties up one idea and propels us to another. Aldern is so concerned with these moments that he will sometimes unpack very similar concepts multiple times in order to really land that flourish. It is the *exact* kind of bloat that people associate with nonfiction books that, yes, sadly could have been a lengthy article (though to Aldern's credit, this topic, his research, and the scope of his ideas are worthy of the book format). It does not help that Aldern's more poetic turns often fail to inspire much reaction. Could be that these flourishes are unwelcome in a situation so dire and so a low rent Bill Nye explanation feels tacky or that this kind of writing is simply not a strength of is. I remember several instances in A Sand County Almanac or the aforementioned The Heat Will Kill You First that were shrieking cacophonies of minute detail working hard (and succeeding) to capture the situation through evocative language and using every inch of their poetic license. I liked it in those books, I found it annoying here.
But Aldern's writing style is hardly the thing that makes this somewhat of a lackluster read. I wouldn't say Aldern is prone to reaching on his points, but there are *many* instances where he goes on an odd tangent or forces a metaphor and you realize, a little awkwardly, that this is not some rickety transitionary idea but in fact the entire statement. One example: Aldern offers the analogy that because a loss of identity often leads to depression and anxiety, an environment losing its character (the example he uses in this section are the decapitated mountains in coal-towns littering Appalachia, a really sad state of affairs I wasn't fully aware of), that there is a similar sense of identity-loss. Yes, that's plausible. But rather than this being an entry point to talk about more neurology (as Aldern does in many places) or trigger the rube Goldberg to his next point, this is just the entire thought. And rather than heaping more research or examples onto these points, he often just drills the metaphor (which, as I've established, is not a strong suit for Aldern but neither is it painfully bad, to be clear).
As other reviewers have noted, this is an area in desperate need of more scholarship and research. I don't think Aldern has a shoddy basis for some of his bolder claims. It all tracks. There were rarely times where I thought that he was arguing something that seemed implausible or silly to argue (which would leave me with a much more negative impression of the book). Instead, though, the book is littered with suggestions that seem difficult to prove because the observation is mostly based in sentimentality (like the identity example above) rather than an empirical figure. I prefer the areas where he comes equipped with historical and scientific perspectives that bolster his argument than the more "creative" readings into how our world is changing. Still, I am extremely sympathetic and would probably even say many of the same things Aldern does if *I* were tasked with writing this book, so I've little room to judge or even say that I dislike it. But I have no background in neuroscience and our author does.
An enormously terrifying topic, if a wonky survey of it. It is also, in many ways, one of the texts that can make you more proactive as someone interested in climate justice (a common complaint about these kinds of books: "So what do I do! Nothing? Thanks!" which is a position I empathize with but cannot take seriously). It is not simply "the sun is baking your brain and there's no real way to prevent the splash damage"-- but instead a list of things to be on the lookout for as you catalog the changing Earth from your own perspective. How do you practice climate mindfulness (the kind of concept you need to be on board with before you even crack the book open)? And my god, wear noseplugs if you go jet skiing. And try to cut back on shellfish.
As a book like The Heat Will Kill You First details (the single most required text for climate change that I've read in what is admittedly not a lengthy canon), so much of the danger in our environments is how interconnected everything is, how silent killers are tethered by invisible domino lines snaking over the world.
An abnormally hot day metabolizes local termite populations causing them to draw out the moisture in trees as they sate their turbo-charged appetite, and suddenly your forest is a tinderbox. If you put 100 of them in a room and asked them to name their top 100 threats on days of extreme heat warnings, how many people would think to even mention termites as a major danger of climate change? We are still finding numberless new ways for climate change to kill us like Agent 47 in a Hitman level.
The point being: My mind is open to new, terrifying ideas. Nothing is off the table.
That said, here is an area without a ton of usable meat on the bone. To extend the metaphor, there are some gripping, well-researched (I suppose the whole thing could be described that way, even the parts I don't care for) morsels about shifting baseline syndrome, the neurotransmitter activity related to forgetting, and brain-eating amoeba spawning in our overheated lakes.
Mostly though, there is fat. Lots of fat.
It mostly comes from Aldern's writing style, which is repetitive and far too preoccupied with delivering a lyrical flourish or a succinct bow that ties up one idea and propels us to another. Aldern is so concerned with these moments that he will sometimes unpack very similar concepts multiple times in order to really land that flourish. It is the *exact* kind of bloat that people associate with nonfiction books that, yes, sadly could have been a lengthy article (though to Aldern's credit, this topic, his research, and the scope of his ideas are worthy of the book format). It does not help that Aldern's more poetic turns often fail to inspire much reaction. Could be that these flourishes are unwelcome in a situation so dire and so a low rent Bill Nye explanation feels tacky or that this kind of writing is simply not a strength of is. I remember several instances in A Sand County Almanac or the aforementioned The Heat Will Kill You First that were shrieking cacophonies of minute detail working hard (and succeeding) to capture the situation through evocative language and using every inch of their poetic license. I liked it in those books, I found it annoying here.
But Aldern's writing style is hardly the thing that makes this somewhat of a lackluster read. I wouldn't say Aldern is prone to reaching on his points, but there are *many* instances where he goes on an odd tangent or forces a metaphor and you realize, a little awkwardly, that this is not some rickety transitionary idea but in fact the entire statement. One example: Aldern offers the analogy that because a loss of identity often leads to depression and anxiety, an environment losing its character (the example he uses in this section are the decapitated mountains in coal-towns littering Appalachia, a really sad state of affairs I wasn't fully aware of), that there is a similar sense of identity-loss. Yes, that's plausible. But rather than this being an entry point to talk about more neurology (as Aldern does in many places) or trigger the rube Goldberg to his next point, this is just the entire thought. And rather than heaping more research or examples onto these points, he often just drills the metaphor (which, as I've established, is not a strong suit for Aldern but neither is it painfully bad, to be clear).
As other reviewers have noted, this is an area in desperate need of more scholarship and research. I don't think Aldern has a shoddy basis for some of his bolder claims. It all tracks. There were rarely times where I thought that he was arguing something that seemed implausible or silly to argue (which would leave me with a much more negative impression of the book). Instead, though, the book is littered with suggestions that seem difficult to prove because the observation is mostly based in sentimentality (like the identity example above) rather than an empirical figure. I prefer the areas where he comes equipped with historical and scientific perspectives that bolster his argument than the more "creative" readings into how our world is changing. Still, I am extremely sympathetic and would probably even say many of the same things Aldern does if *I* were tasked with writing this book, so I've little room to judge or even say that I dislike it. But I have no background in neuroscience and our author does.
An enormously terrifying topic, if a wonky survey of it. It is also, in many ways, one of the texts that can make you more proactive as someone interested in climate justice (a common complaint about these kinds of books: "So what do I do! Nothing? Thanks!" which is a position I empathize with but cannot take seriously). It is not simply "the sun is baking your brain and there's no real way to prevent the splash damage"-- but instead a list of things to be on the lookout for as you catalog the changing Earth from your own perspective. How do you practice climate mindfulness (the kind of concept you need to be on board with before you even crack the book open)? And my god, wear noseplugs if you go jet skiing. And try to cut back on shellfish.
April 2, 2024
“When heat takes its place in your brain, it is pushing you out”.
After reading so many books and articles about the climate crisis, I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh and original this was. Written with journalistic flair, it looks into the surprising links between rising temperatures and the behavior of the human brain.
It begins by exploring the question so many experts ask - why we don't act with sufficient urgency, why climate change is so hard to grasp. I found this part eye-opening. In later chapters, the author turns his attention to how our brains may be affected by our warming world - and while some similar physiological aspects have been described, for example, in the excellent The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet, here too he is able to discover totally unexpected effects and grim consequences. In the process, he ventures into so many areas of interest to me: zoonotic diseases, forest fires, animal senses, linguistics.
Aldern neatly sums up my own feelings when he writes that “climate anxiety is real. But the phrase is a misnomer. Anxiety, psychiatrically, suggests irrational fear. There is nothing irrational about worrying about collapse.” All this paints a rather apocalyptic picture, as the author himself admits - but he adds that “if we want a shot at warding off the coming neurological nightmare, we have to walk into this thing with open eyes”. And I agree. Everyone should read this book, it is too late to pretend that we can comfortably ignore what awaits us all. As Aldern writes towards the end, “Recognizing and welcoming our heavy planetary bonds may offer a means of realizing a societal response to the climate crisis—a manner in which we can build the connections that are necessary for the collective action that protest, policymaking, and accountability require. Anchored, steadied by grief, we can act”.
Thanks to the publisher, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
After reading so many books and articles about the climate crisis, I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh and original this was. Written with journalistic flair, it looks into the surprising links between rising temperatures and the behavior of the human brain.
It begins by exploring the question so many experts ask - why we don't act with sufficient urgency, why climate change is so hard to grasp. I found this part eye-opening. In later chapters, the author turns his attention to how our brains may be affected by our warming world - and while some similar physiological aspects have been described, for example, in the excellent The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet, here too he is able to discover totally unexpected effects and grim consequences. In the process, he ventures into so many areas of interest to me: zoonotic diseases, forest fires, animal senses, linguistics.
Aldern neatly sums up my own feelings when he writes that “climate anxiety is real. But the phrase is a misnomer. Anxiety, psychiatrically, suggests irrational fear. There is nothing irrational about worrying about collapse.” All this paints a rather apocalyptic picture, as the author himself admits - but he adds that “if we want a shot at warding off the coming neurological nightmare, we have to walk into this thing with open eyes”. And I agree. Everyone should read this book, it is too late to pretend that we can comfortably ignore what awaits us all. As Aldern writes towards the end, “Recognizing and welcoming our heavy planetary bonds may offer a means of realizing a societal response to the climate crisis—a manner in which we can build the connections that are necessary for the collective action that protest, policymaking, and accountability require. Anchored, steadied by grief, we can act”.
Thanks to the publisher, PENGUIN GROUP Dutton, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
Read
July 29, 2024This was a valuable, eye opening read from my perspective as someone who does community organizing, but also works as a psychotherapist. I was already thinking about climate change in relation to migration & displacement and things like that, but had not really read up on the science and processes of how a changing climate can actually affect our bodies’ chemistry and things like executive function. The section of the book that spoke about how the brain uses glucose, for example, it was particularly fascinating. As a whole, this book is a call to awareness and action, rather than depressing perspective, and encourages us to mobilize and actually work together.
October 8, 2024
This book was an absolute mindfuck. I think many are aware that changes that are happening due to climate change but we don’t know how much it affects us at the cognitive and biological level. I’d absolutely recommend this to everyone who wants to know more about climatology or environmentalism. The only pet peeve was I felt the author went circles when trying to get his point across. Aside from that, overall, something I would reread again.
June 19, 2024
This is not a book I ordinarily choose to read, because I like stories that are fictional. I wish this book about climate change was fictional, but sadly is not.
However, I did enjoy this book because human behavior is affected by weather and rising temperatures and it’s a good thing someone is finally making this information clear, concise and easy to understand.
I found each chapter very interesting in the ways nature affects us. One particularly has basically convinced me to never swim in a lake again. I recently noticed signs on the beach of Lake Erie’s western basin shore warning beachgoers about the dangers of algae. I don’t think I would have correlated climate change and those signs together before.
Thanks to the book, I am certainly more aware.
However, I did enjoy this book because human behavior is affected by weather and rising temperatures and it’s a good thing someone is finally making this information clear, concise and easy to understand.
I found each chapter very interesting in the ways nature affects us. One particularly has basically convinced me to never swim in a lake again. I recently noticed signs on the beach of Lake Erie’s western basin shore warning beachgoers about the dangers of algae. I don’t think I would have correlated climate change and those signs together before.
Thanks to the book, I am certainly more aware.
July 31, 2024
Brilliant and devastating. I will be thinking about the way the warming planet is making us more forgetful, the loss of shades of green, and the drift away from indigenous languages resulting in the loss of understanding of natural phenomena for years to come. My loved ones are sick of hearing about me talk about brain eating amoebas but damn this book taught me so much about the way human impact on the planet is literally chipping away at our brain power. This is the kind of book that I want a physical copy to mark up and revisit over and over again.
December 24, 2024
This book was interesting and informative, but the different sections felt a bit disjointed in my opinion. Additionally, it sometimes felt like the author "lost the plot," so to speak, and focused too heavily on things outside of the changing climate. I like that the book highlights the vast changes we'll see along with changing temperatures, storms, and general weather patterns, and even the second tier, domino-effect changes that will follow. However, the last section of the book got too far away from climate at times.
I appreciate the humanity/responsibility approach and perspective. There are no clear solutions laid out in this book, as there are no clear solutions for individuals affected by climate change, but there are some ideas suggested. The research is grim, yet not signalling the end to everything as we know it. Speaking of research, this book tends to be research and stats heavy, but that to me was expected. I did feel like it was all laid out in a way that was approachable and comprehensive for normies.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, and would recommend it to those interested in the climate crisis from an academic, psychological perspective.
I appreciate the humanity/responsibility approach and perspective. There are no clear solutions laid out in this book, as there are no clear solutions for individuals affected by climate change, but there are some ideas suggested. The research is grim, yet not signalling the end to everything as we know it. Speaking of research, this book tends to be research and stats heavy, but that to me was expected. I did feel like it was all laid out in a way that was approachable and comprehensive for normies.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, and would recommend it to those interested in the climate crisis from an academic, psychological perspective.
August 20, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked this one, and found the perspective unexpected and interesting. Rather than a scientific book about how the climate is changing, this is a surprisingly philosophical book about how the climate is changing us.
From physical effects such as how heat impacts the brain's ability to function properly (related to forming memories, general energy and performance in cognition, and increases in aggressive behavior), to things like the increasing occurrence of disease brought on by heat-fueled toxic algae blooms or the infamous "brain-eating amoebas," to the effects of things like wildfires on mental stability and community resilience- every chapter was both interesting and a bit overwhelming in its sadness.
If you don't normally enjoy science books, then I would still recommend you give this a shot as it was filled with science but written in a more poetic way, similar to Robert Macfarlane's Underland: A Deep Time Journey except less upbeat.
I really liked this one, and found the perspective unexpected and interesting. Rather than a scientific book about how the climate is changing, this is a surprisingly philosophical book about how the climate is changing us.
From physical effects such as how heat impacts the brain's ability to function properly (related to forming memories, general energy and performance in cognition, and increases in aggressive behavior), to things like the increasing occurrence of disease brought on by heat-fueled toxic algae blooms or the infamous "brain-eating amoebas," to the effects of things like wildfires on mental stability and community resilience- every chapter was both interesting and a bit overwhelming in its sadness.
If you don't normally enjoy science books, then I would still recommend you give this a shot as it was filled with science but written in a more poetic way, similar to Robert Macfarlane's Underland: A Deep Time Journey except less upbeat.
November 19, 2024
4.5 rounded up, this is excellent, a different avenue of climate change change that we are seeing and will increasingly continue to see - how our minds and bodies will respond to warmer weather, increased parasites and diseases, natural disasters that cannot be predicted or controlled. I knew the heat made me grumpy, but here's a whole book justifying it. There is a lot in here to unpack and further study, definitely reread worthy.
June 1, 2025
"The weight of nature is an anchor and it binds us to this world."
With any book about climate change, I feel a sense of dread and need to do something, anything, now alongside the overwhelming fear that it's too late and we've doomed ourselves for the sake of comfort and money.
This book also takes on the way in which climate change affects our brains. From the post traumatic stress from ecological disasters to the loss linguistical connections, there is a lot packed into this book. An important and interesting read!
With any book about climate change, I feel a sense of dread and need to do something, anything, now alongside the overwhelming fear that it's too late and we've doomed ourselves for the sake of comfort and money.
This book also takes on the way in which climate change affects our brains. From the post traumatic stress from ecological disasters to the loss linguistical connections, there is a lot packed into this book. An important and interesting read!
October 2, 2025
So much to unpack in this book and so many reasons to be anxious and afraid because our world IS changing and policies don’t reflect this. It was an informative and awakening read. I especially liked the spotlights on indigenous cultures and languages. Human rights and environmental justice is so intertwined and I’m glad that this book addressed this. But sheesh I’m lowkey afraid of swimming in lakes now in case I breathe in amoebas.
May 13, 2025
really well written. really hard to listen to.
this book is not about climate change -- it is about the way our brains work, and explores how each of these things is influenced by our warming climate
this book is not about climate change -- it is about the way our brains work, and explores how each of these things is influenced by our warming climate
June 8, 2024
Really really good.
September 14, 2024
Spoiler: it’s not good news.
December 27, 2025
Very interesting analytical take on how the brain is responding to climate change. Brain eating amoeba is spooky.
June 4, 2024
An intriguing investigation into many dimensions of humanity affected by climate -and specifically how climate change can detract from our experiences in these dimensions. A little complex and repetitive , maybe a little disjointed at times, but it did give me much to think about. 4.5 rounded up.
April 21, 2024
How many times does one need to make the same points?? Better editing might have helped...
February 11, 2025
Chilling, compulsive reading covering a diverse range of interconnected subjects. Despite the grim details I would have enjoyed reading more related to the first three quarters of this book. Yes please, tell me more about vampire bats social life and brain eating amoeba!
So what happened during the final quarter? Despite the writing still being excellent the subject matter felt disconnected from the first portion. Ultimately, as the book drew to a closer I appreciated what the author had in mind but for me it really took me out of the book and I struggled to stay focused and appreciate the book as a cohesive whole. I believe with another few passes and some insight from his editor this would have been a phenomenal book vs an excellent but moderately flawed book that didn't quite stick the landing for me.
That said, I learned SO much! Here are a few of my favorite observations from the book:
"Friston's theory formalizes this logic at multiple scales of analysis. It says the point of all living things is to maximize evidence for their own model-their own existence-to minimize the surprise they encounter in the world, relative to their current understanding of the relationship between causes and consequences. The causes, here, amount to reality: the everything outside ourselves. The consequences are our percep- tions of this world-the sensations we feel when navigating our envi- ronments. When our expectations match our perceptions, our brains are doing a good job. When they don't, we adjust accordingly. We adapt.
"Outsize influence is resonance and oscillation. It is the thing that causes complex dynamical systems to falter."
"Sustainable self-evidencing - that's it. That's the meaning of life, if there's one to be dug up. That is what it means TO BE."
"Yes, sure, we are all connected. But that's boring. What's not boring is the fact that despite the porous boundaries between us, and in addition to the interconnectedness of the individual and its environment, we also share a defi- nition of success with every other thing that physically exists, at any scale. "Sustainability" means the same thing for everything."
So what happened during the final quarter? Despite the writing still being excellent the subject matter felt disconnected from the first portion. Ultimately, as the book drew to a closer I appreciated what the author had in mind but for me it really took me out of the book and I struggled to stay focused and appreciate the book as a cohesive whole. I believe with another few passes and some insight from his editor this would have been a phenomenal book vs an excellent but moderately flawed book that didn't quite stick the landing for me.
That said, I learned SO much! Here are a few of my favorite observations from the book:
"Friston's theory formalizes this logic at multiple scales of analysis. It says the point of all living things is to maximize evidence for their own model-their own existence-to minimize the surprise they encounter in the world, relative to their current understanding of the relationship between causes and consequences. The causes, here, amount to reality: the everything outside ourselves. The consequences are our percep- tions of this world-the sensations we feel when navigating our envi- ronments. When our expectations match our perceptions, our brains are doing a good job. When they don't, we adjust accordingly. We adapt.
"Outsize influence is resonance and oscillation. It is the thing that causes complex dynamical systems to falter."
"Sustainable self-evidencing - that's it. That's the meaning of life, if there's one to be dug up. That is what it means TO BE."
"Yes, sure, we are all connected. But that's boring. What's not boring is the fact that despite the porous boundaries between us, and in addition to the interconnectedness of the individual and its environment, we also share a defi- nition of success with every other thing that physically exists, at any scale. "Sustainability" means the same thing for everything."
February 6, 2025
In could not finish this book in fact, I really couldn’t get into it. The author was writing it and besides it being a depressing book, his voice was depressing. I did not see anyway that he was going to help mitigate a depression caused by this book. Yes there is climate change. Yes, we should do something about it. Yes, I am trying my best and the rest of the country has to do their best too.
October 3, 2024
An interesting book, presented as a path of discovery. What Clayton discovers is fairly terrifying. It took me down previously unrecognised paths. A good read.
November 23, 2025
The heat waves we’ve had recently means people haven’t been able to not go outside for walks which is a great way to clear peoples head and concentrate and because of climate change we are having these ozone problems with air pollution, so it’s just been uncomfortable to be outside hardly at all and all I want to do is read about climate change. This book is written by an award winning journalist and a neuroscientist who looks at ways in which climate change is affecting our mental health and how we need to be talking more about the impact climate change has on our brains.
This book is a look at how the neuroscience of climate change is not only impacting us now, but how it will impact us in the future. This was such a unique and creative approach to talking about climate change that I think is kind of one of the essential reads of the climate change genre because I think it provides not only this personal fascination that we have with how it might impact us no matter where in the world we live, but how it also frames the future in an important way because these are often topics that we are not talking about, however, they will become absolutely integral to how the future exists. If you’re a person that just loves diving deep into a dense book, this is absolutely one of the best books you could read.
If you just thought climate change was going to change how the weather was, now it affects everything, even your own brain and health in general. There is so much in this book that we use together; everything. From how the increased heat is bad for everybody and everybody’s brain as it tends to make us more violent, yes, but it also makes us less charitable in general. Like some of that increased violence comes because we perceive others as being more violent or you know confrontational than we usually would. For example, good chance that wasn’t because the empire liked the other team better; good chance that they’re just hot and they missed it. It’s a hot day and you come in front of a judge: more likely to get a worse sentence. We can forget more and more about what life used to be and what life used to look like. It affects the ecosystem of course which affects you and how you interact with the world around you. Like when the author got into a cab during the snow storm and the driver is like “you know, the storms are different. Yes there used to be storms and lots of snow and I drove through it but now I have to stop every once in a while because it’s sticky snow that sticks to my lights and I have to wipe them off.” All these things just add and add and add and you see what’s going on in the world and you’re just like ‘we’re screwed.’
This was a phenomenal read about the neuroscience of how climate change impacts our brains and how it impacts our social skills and our intelligence. I love this book, it is the best climate change book I’ve ever read. This is a book about the neuroscience of what climate change is doing to our brains and what it will continue to do to our brains as things get worse. This is a very engaging and interesting read, don’t be fooled by the cover! This is obviously as it sounds a distressing read but I also find it very, very affirming because so much climate change writing and even just conversation about climate change, it’s abstract almost, we talk about it like it’s some far away thing like hey if we don’t meet these emissions goals in the next 10 years, you know in 2050 things are going to be bad’ and it very much glosses over the fact that things are already bad and we are already not doing enough about it and this book was really heavy on the things are affecting us now, which sounds distressing and alarming and it is but I also have felt like I’ve been taking crazy pills. This made me feel very like ‘Yes, I am the right amount of concerned about the environment today’ and about the fact that it is affecting us today; it is a really really good book. I really love that it’s about neuroscience and even if you don’t have a degree in it like I do it’s a very accessible read. The science of the book is very well written and is entertaining to read despite being distressing. It’s written with a lot of balance between like, ‘hey this is happening’ and also like hope and I think if you are all interested in climate change and what it is doing right now to you, to your brain, inside your skull, this is a very cool book.
If that’s going to make you anxious, maybe don’t read it. It definitely is distressing and alarming but I found it to be probably the best climate change book I’ve read yet. I think it’s a wonderful book and a perfect book for anyone who wants to understand how climate change impacts us beyond extreme weather events, to the core of who we are and how we relate to ourselves and others: stressful and incredibly interesting!
This book is a look at how the neuroscience of climate change is not only impacting us now, but how it will impact us in the future. This was such a unique and creative approach to talking about climate change that I think is kind of one of the essential reads of the climate change genre because I think it provides not only this personal fascination that we have with how it might impact us no matter where in the world we live, but how it also frames the future in an important way because these are often topics that we are not talking about, however, they will become absolutely integral to how the future exists. If you’re a person that just loves diving deep into a dense book, this is absolutely one of the best books you could read.
If you just thought climate change was going to change how the weather was, now it affects everything, even your own brain and health in general. There is so much in this book that we use together; everything. From how the increased heat is bad for everybody and everybody’s brain as it tends to make us more violent, yes, but it also makes us less charitable in general. Like some of that increased violence comes because we perceive others as being more violent or you know confrontational than we usually would. For example, good chance that wasn’t because the empire liked the other team better; good chance that they’re just hot and they missed it. It’s a hot day and you come in front of a judge: more likely to get a worse sentence. We can forget more and more about what life used to be and what life used to look like. It affects the ecosystem of course which affects you and how you interact with the world around you. Like when the author got into a cab during the snow storm and the driver is like “you know, the storms are different. Yes there used to be storms and lots of snow and I drove through it but now I have to stop every once in a while because it’s sticky snow that sticks to my lights and I have to wipe them off.” All these things just add and add and add and you see what’s going on in the world and you’re just like ‘we’re screwed.’
This was a phenomenal read about the neuroscience of how climate change impacts our brains and how it impacts our social skills and our intelligence. I love this book, it is the best climate change book I’ve ever read. This is a book about the neuroscience of what climate change is doing to our brains and what it will continue to do to our brains as things get worse. This is a very engaging and interesting read, don’t be fooled by the cover! This is obviously as it sounds a distressing read but I also find it very, very affirming because so much climate change writing and even just conversation about climate change, it’s abstract almost, we talk about it like it’s some far away thing like hey if we don’t meet these emissions goals in the next 10 years, you know in 2050 things are going to be bad’ and it very much glosses over the fact that things are already bad and we are already not doing enough about it and this book was really heavy on the things are affecting us now, which sounds distressing and alarming and it is but I also have felt like I’ve been taking crazy pills. This made me feel very like ‘Yes, I am the right amount of concerned about the environment today’ and about the fact that it is affecting us today; it is a really really good book. I really love that it’s about neuroscience and even if you don’t have a degree in it like I do it’s a very accessible read. The science of the book is very well written and is entertaining to read despite being distressing. It’s written with a lot of balance between like, ‘hey this is happening’ and also like hope and I think if you are all interested in climate change and what it is doing right now to you, to your brain, inside your skull, this is a very cool book.
If that’s going to make you anxious, maybe don’t read it. It definitely is distressing and alarming but I found it to be probably the best climate change book I’ve read yet. I think it’s a wonderful book and a perfect book for anyone who wants to understand how climate change impacts us beyond extreme weather events, to the core of who we are and how we relate to ourselves and others: stressful and incredibly interesting!
December 16, 2025
Chyba już coraz rzadziej trzeba ludzi przekonywać, że zmiany klimatyczne dzieją się wokół nas. Dostrzegamy zmiany w środowisku, pogodzie. Mamy świadomość tego, że przychodzi nam, jako społeczeństwu, stawiać czoła wyzwaniom odmiennym od tych jakie doświadczali nasi przodkowie. I chociaż zmiany klimatu obserwujemy wokół siebie to czy zastawialiśmy się jak wpływają one na nas? Najbardziej oczywistym przykładem jest wpływ upału. Większość staje się szybko zmęczona, poirytowana, łatwiej traci cierpliwość, trudniej się skupić nawet na łatwych, codziennych czynnościach. Nie od dziś wiadomo, że fale upałów łączą się z okresami wzmożonej agresji.
Książka ,,Ciężar natury" zaczyna się od tego przytoczonego wyżej, bardzo wyraźnego przykładu ale podpiera go statystykami i rozszerza. Bo upał to nie tylko agresja, to też problemy z koncentracją, które mogą obniżyć wynik na egzaminie i zaważyć na całej przyszłości. To zmniejszenie się empatii i ryzyko, że ktoś podejmie błędną lub nadinterpretowaną decyzję. To problemy z nauką. Ocieplanie się klimatu jednak sięga dalej. To rozrost sinic na akwenach wodnych, namnażanie się ameby atakującej mózg.
Autor podzielił pracę na kilka rozdziałów, w których po kolei opowiada jak zmiany klimatyczne już oddziałują na ludzkość, czy sobie to uświadamiamy czy nie. To nie tylko radykalne przykłady przywołane wcześniej. To także dużo mniej widoczne zmiany, które zauważamy dopiero z odpowiedniej perspektywy. Najbardziej zaskoczyło mnie to jak środowisko wpływa na język. Postępujące zmiany pozbawiają nas punktów odniesienia by zrozumieć słowa lub pojęcia. Bo co dla większości nas znaczy na przykład: ,,siarczysty mróz"? Coraz łagodniejsze zimy sprawiły, że takie zjawisko atmosferyczne powoli odchodzi do lamusa.
,,Ciężar natury" to bardzo przystępnie napisana praca, która uświadamia że zmiany klimatyczne to nie abstrakcja. To coś, co dzieje się tu i teraz i bardzo mocno oddziałuje nie tylko na przyrodę ale przede wszystkim na człowieka. Autor wprawdzie twierdzi, że nie chce siać strachu ale wiele przywołanych przez niego przykładów jest zatrważających. Nie na wszystko mamy wpływ ale świadomość z pewnością może pomóc lepiej się dostosować. Z pewnością jest to praca, po którą warto sięgnąć i wyrobić sobie własne zdanie, szczególnie, że jest napisana bardzo przystępnym językiem z całym mnóstwem bardzo obrazowych przykładów.
Książka ,,Ciężar natury" zaczyna się od tego przytoczonego wyżej, bardzo wyraźnego przykładu ale podpiera go statystykami i rozszerza. Bo upał to nie tylko agresja, to też problemy z koncentracją, które mogą obniżyć wynik na egzaminie i zaważyć na całej przyszłości. To zmniejszenie się empatii i ryzyko, że ktoś podejmie błędną lub nadinterpretowaną decyzję. To problemy z nauką. Ocieplanie się klimatu jednak sięga dalej. To rozrost sinic na akwenach wodnych, namnażanie się ameby atakującej mózg.
Autor podzielił pracę na kilka rozdziałów, w których po kolei opowiada jak zmiany klimatyczne już oddziałują na ludzkość, czy sobie to uświadamiamy czy nie. To nie tylko radykalne przykłady przywołane wcześniej. To także dużo mniej widoczne zmiany, które zauważamy dopiero z odpowiedniej perspektywy. Najbardziej zaskoczyło mnie to jak środowisko wpływa na język. Postępujące zmiany pozbawiają nas punktów odniesienia by zrozumieć słowa lub pojęcia. Bo co dla większości nas znaczy na przykład: ,,siarczysty mróz"? Coraz łagodniejsze zimy sprawiły, że takie zjawisko atmosferyczne powoli odchodzi do lamusa.
,,Ciężar natury" to bardzo przystępnie napisana praca, która uświadamia że zmiany klimatyczne to nie abstrakcja. To coś, co dzieje się tu i teraz i bardzo mocno oddziałuje nie tylko na przyrodę ale przede wszystkim na człowieka. Autor wprawdzie twierdzi, że nie chce siać strachu ale wiele przywołanych przez niego przykładów jest zatrważających. Nie na wszystko mamy wpływ ale świadomość z pewnością może pomóc lepiej się dostosować. Z pewnością jest to praca, po którą warto sięgnąć i wyrobić sobie własne zdanie, szczególnie, że jest napisana bardzo przystępnym językiem z całym mnóstwem bardzo obrazowych przykładów.
May 23, 2024
I believe that climate change is real. It will have a lot of serious consequences. We don't yet know what some of them will be or how serious the ones we know about will be. It will certainly be bad and in some ways very bad. I'm prepared to believe, as Mr. Aldern proposes in this book, that the consequences of climate change will include a negative impact on our minds and our general mental and emotional well being. But too much of this book is speculation that, at best, points to a need for further research. I don't dispute the idea that hot weather impairs reasoning and increases aggression, but I'm not sure that translates into a world where we are all less rational and more aggressive because average global temperatures go up by one or two degrees. I also agree that increased temperatures will cause an increase in certain environmental toxins that will adversly affect the thinking of people who are exposed to them. Environmental disasters due to climate change will increase the incidence of PTSD among people who live through them. But as I read, I kept feeling that the focus was wrong. All of Mr. Aldern's parade of horribles will pale in comparison with more serious climate driven events - large numbers of people dying in unprecedented heatwaves, extreme weather events, flooding of coastal cities due to rising sea levels, acidification of the oceans, and the list goes on. Our poor little broken brains will be the least of our worries.
Near the end he gets into a discussion of how climate change may affect languages. Here I thought some of his ideas were actually wrong. He overstates the Whorfian idea that language affects thought; it does, but mostly on a trivial level. And the loss of language diversity is happening whether or not we manage to deal with climate change.
In the end this book is little more than depressing scaremongering that does nothing to help us solve our problems. I want books that deal with the real, tangible, knowable consequences of climate change and what we can do about them. The weak reasoning of this book plays into the hands of the deniers, and the focus on problems of secondary importance distracts us from the issues that should be our main focus.
Near the end he gets into a discussion of how climate change may affect languages. Here I thought some of his ideas were actually wrong. He overstates the Whorfian idea that language affects thought; it does, but mostly on a trivial level. And the loss of language diversity is happening whether or not we manage to deal with climate change.
In the end this book is little more than depressing scaremongering that does nothing to help us solve our problems. I want books that deal with the real, tangible, knowable consequences of climate change and what we can do about them. The weak reasoning of this book plays into the hands of the deniers, and the focus on problems of secondary importance distracts us from the issues that should be our main focus.
Read
November 23, 2025"CIĘŻAR NATURY jak zmiany klimatu wpływają na umysł, mózg i ciało" pióra neuronaukowca i dziennikarza Claytona Page Aldern'a, to książka oczywiście popularnonaukowa, ale też i (w moim odczuciu) silnie psychologiczna. Autor bowiem skupia się na wpływie jaki mają zmiany klimatu na człowieka - i ten wpływ często jest zaskakująco "samopoczuciowy". Nagle okazuje się, że pogoda oddziałuje na charakter i nastrój - i teraz podkreślę, że "nagle" wcale nie jest "nagle", bo przecież odkąd pamiętam pogoda miała wpływ na mój nastrój. Wiodącą sprawą jest zatem nie sam wpływ, ale nasza świadomość ów zjawiska.
To, co mi się bardzo w książce podobało, to właśnie ta analiza neuronaukowa, ta zadziwiająca ludzka skłonność popadania w skrajności, gdy na zewnątrz idzie nie tak, jakbyśmy chcieli. Skoro świat krzyczy - nasze ciała również zaczynają wyć z rozpaczy. Widzimy problemy z pamięcią - które zostały świetnie omówione przez autora, ale widzimy także realne skutki klimatu (tłumaczonego tu nie jako pogoda - a jako kultura) - klimatu, który zaczyna za nas podejmować decyzje, tylko z pozoru z nim niezwiązane.
Uczciwie przyznaję, że nie wszystko łyknęłam jak pelikan. Część tez autora skłaniają mnie do dalszego poszukiwania, ale Aldern sprawił, że na temat zmian klimatu spojrzałam z zupełnie innej strony a takie lektury szczególnie cenię.
CIĘŻAR NATURY jest bardzo dobrze napisaną pod względem stylistycznym książką. Świetnie się czyta, każdy rozdział wciąga i o ironio w CIĘŻARZE NATURY" nie czuć czytelniczego ciężaru czytania. Oczywiście polecam, ja nie mogę oprzeć się żadnej książce wydanej przez bo.wiem pod szyldem serii #nauka.
dzisiaj pada deszcz - jak się masz?
seria #nauka
bo.wiem
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
egzemplarz recenzencki
To, co mi się bardzo w książce podobało, to właśnie ta analiza neuronaukowa, ta zadziwiająca ludzka skłonność popadania w skrajności, gdy na zewnątrz idzie nie tak, jakbyśmy chcieli. Skoro świat krzyczy - nasze ciała również zaczynają wyć z rozpaczy. Widzimy problemy z pamięcią - które zostały świetnie omówione przez autora, ale widzimy także realne skutki klimatu (tłumaczonego tu nie jako pogoda - a jako kultura) - klimatu, który zaczyna za nas podejmować decyzje, tylko z pozoru z nim niezwiązane.
Uczciwie przyznaję, że nie wszystko łyknęłam jak pelikan. Część tez autora skłaniają mnie do dalszego poszukiwania, ale Aldern sprawił, że na temat zmian klimatu spojrzałam z zupełnie innej strony a takie lektury szczególnie cenię.
CIĘŻAR NATURY jest bardzo dobrze napisaną pod względem stylistycznym książką. Świetnie się czyta, każdy rozdział wciąga i o ironio w CIĘŻARZE NATURY" nie czuć czytelniczego ciężaru czytania. Oczywiście polecam, ja nie mogę oprzeć się żadnej książce wydanej przez bo.wiem pod szyldem serii #nauka.
dzisiaj pada deszcz - jak się masz?
seria #nauka
bo.wiem
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
egzemplarz recenzencki
August 15, 2024
Probably a 3.75 to be precise.
I didn't think any of the issues Aldern discussed were overly alarmist. Nor, overall, other than the discussion on linguistics and climate change, and that on migration, did I think they were overly speculative.
The linguistics? Yes, climate change may make some of the 21 or 172 or whatever Sami words for snow fade away. But, strong and even medium Whorfianism was conclusively rejected long ago.
Migration? Climate change may indeed increase the desire to migrate. BUT, as Hein de Haas shows in his book on the realities of migration, the actualities of that are currently — and likely in the future — something different, as far as cross-border migrations.
And, as is my wont? The longer 2-star reviewer talking about "more research"? The rest of his review made clear he's not a climate denier, but, good sir, Aldern reports research on the issues he talks about in this book. The stuff on heat and judgment / thought processes has had a LOT of research. He also doesn't claim the changes in human thought processes will be worse than heat waves, floods and droughts from climate change. Beyond that? The expansion of tropical diseases may not be that far behind heat waves, floods and droughts in the amount of death and destruction it exhibits.
I didn't think any of the issues Aldern discussed were overly alarmist. Nor, overall, other than the discussion on linguistics and climate change, and that on migration, did I think they were overly speculative.
The linguistics? Yes, climate change may make some of the 21 or 172 or whatever Sami words for snow fade away. But, strong and even medium Whorfianism was conclusively rejected long ago.
Migration? Climate change may indeed increase the desire to migrate. BUT, as Hein de Haas shows in his book on the realities of migration, the actualities of that are currently — and likely in the future — something different, as far as cross-border migrations.
And, as is my wont? The longer 2-star reviewer talking about "more research"? The rest of his review made clear he's not a climate denier, but, good sir, Aldern reports research on the issues he talks about in this book. The stuff on heat and judgment / thought processes has had a LOT of research. He also doesn't claim the changes in human thought processes will be worse than heat waves, floods and droughts from climate change. Beyond that? The expansion of tropical diseases may not be that far behind heat waves, floods and droughts in the amount of death and destruction it exhibits.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews