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Nature's Wild Ideas: How the Natural World Is Inspiring Scientific Innovation
Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for Nature (2023) // Silver Nautilus Book Award for Science (2024) // Longlisted for AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books (2023) // Nominated for Smart Book of the Year 2024 (Polish Edition) // Starred Review Publishers Weekly
A lively and endlessly fascinating 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 and near volcanoes to introduce us to the animals and plants that have inspired everything from cargo routing systems to non-toxic glues, and the men and women who followed that first spark of "I wonder" all the way to its conclusion, sometimes against all odds.
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.
A lively and endlessly fascinating 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 and near volcanoes to introduce us to the animals and plants that have inspired everything from cargo routing systems to non-toxic glues, and the men and women who followed that first spark of "I wonder" all the way to its conclusion, sometimes against all odds.
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.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published October 4, 2022
28 people are currently reading
3410 people want to read
About the author
Kristy Hamilton
1 book36 followersKristy Hamilton is a science journalist who has written for WIRED, Science Magazine, Hakai Magazine, Mongabay and other publications. Her WIRED article was featured on the website's front page as a "Today's Picks," and The New York Times gave a shoutout to her article about a DNA test that helps law enforcement catch precious red coral smugglers in their Climate Forward weekly email newsletter.
Previously, she was a podcast host and video editor for Science Magazine. She has covered all-female expeditions to Antarctica, hitchhiked and ice-climbed in Hyalite Canyon, lived in the desert in an RV, frequently slept in the back of a van, moderated a conference on the sustainability of cell-based seafood, climbed in Yosemite and the Dolomites, road tripped across the United States, lived in Ukraine for two months, trekked forests in search of albino redwood trees, was invited as a journalism fellow to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute during a storm that ripped through town… and now she’s writing two books! When she's not on the road, she lives in San Francisco, CA.
Previously, she was a podcast host and video editor for Science Magazine. She has covered all-female expeditions to Antarctica, hitchhiked and ice-climbed in Hyalite Canyon, lived in the desert in an RV, frequently slept in the back of a van, moderated a conference on the sustainability of cell-based seafood, climbed in Yosemite and the Dolomites, road tripped across the United States, lived in Ukraine for two months, trekked forests in search of albino redwood trees, was invited as a journalism fellow to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute during a storm that ripped through town… and now she’s writing two books! When she's not on the road, she lives in San Francisco, CA.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
June 8, 2024
A fascinating and engaging overview of the many inventions and eventually technological/commercial products that have been inspired by nature. All sorts of useful things from glue, medicine, telescope lenses, new freezing/cooling technology, a new type of brick, water harvesting, airplane wings, and research tools etc were invented by following nature's example. The book is a lovely collection biomimicry examples with a decent amount of scientific detail. The author is a bit heavy handed on the anthropogenic climate change theme. She is probably preaching to the choir, and if not, we got it the first time, she didn't need to repeat it each chapter.
AUDIOBOOK NOTE: The narrator is ok, but not great. I do wish I had been able to obtain the physical book instead, so I could go back and re-read sections that I found particularly interesting or that were detailed.
AUDIOBOOK NOTE: The narrator is ok, but not great. I do wish I had been able to obtain the physical book instead, so I could go back and re-read sections that I found particularly interesting or that were detailed.
March 19, 2024
So, my husband stumbled on this guy Griff Griffith's TikTok account, and started following him. He's a nature & wildlife conservationist and in one of his videos, he mentions being featured in a book. This is that book.
I'm all about reading books with my husband, because he's not much of a reader in general, and so whenever he IS willing to read something, I'm gonna make it happen. So I bought the audio from Audible, and we started listening to it.
He didn't make it.
The reader for this audiobook is... fine. Tolerable? She's a pretty dry and boring reader, and you can usually hear her intake of breath before each line. For me, a practiced audiobook listener, it's not such a big deal. I have learned over the years to tune a lot of annoying things out and just take in the content being read. Though I LOVE a great reader, I can muddle through with a meh one when the need arises.
The Boyo? Not so much. He was constantly distracted by the WAY she was reading, her breathing, her cadence, etc. He did make it to the Griff chapter, but as that was (I think?) Chapter 3, that's not saying much. He dipped out pretty quickly, so I finished on my own.
*Ahem*
Anyway. The content of this book is really interesting, but it's also a bit dry and scientific-process heavy, and it takes a fair bit of patience to make it through some sections. Toward the end, there was a section about fluorescent dye used in medicine and how it came to be discovered and used, and there were like 7 different scientists working on several different research projects and the book outlined how they all fit together with a piece here, from this research, and a piece there, from this other discovery, etc. And yes, it is interesting and really cool, but it's also a LOT to track, with a ton of detail and scientific jargon and lingo and also kinda gross descriptions of stuff. I didn't really know what to expect from this book, but very technical science and gross research processes weren't really high on my list. I thought it would be more high-level, inspiration from nature put into action by innovation and engineering kind of stuff. And it is that too, of course.
I don't even know if this is a criticism, really. Like, I think that the stuff included here is really cool, and it is super fascinating to see how an observation of bioluminescence can translate to human medicine, but I think I could have done with a bit less of the technical process in between.
But, at the same time, I'm not mad about it, because unless we see how things like this come to be, sometimes by luck, sometimes by accident, sometimes by diligent and undaunted research, the links and usefulness of a discovery may be overlooked. One of the comments made within this book is that GENERAL scientific research is gradually being replaced by specific issue-based research. We have X problem - research to solve it. But this book shows that sometimes the "solution" comes from just being open to learning and researching widely and without a specific goal in mind.
So, overall, this was good, and interesting, but a little drier than I expected.
I'm all about reading books with my husband, because he's not much of a reader in general, and so whenever he IS willing to read something, I'm gonna make it happen. So I bought the audio from Audible, and we started listening to it.
He didn't make it.
The reader for this audiobook is... fine. Tolerable? She's a pretty dry and boring reader, and you can usually hear her intake of breath before each line. For me, a practiced audiobook listener, it's not such a big deal. I have learned over the years to tune a lot of annoying things out and just take in the content being read. Though I LOVE a great reader, I can muddle through with a meh one when the need arises.
The Boyo? Not so much. He was constantly distracted by the WAY she was reading, her breathing, her cadence, etc. He did make it to the Griff chapter, but as that was (I think?) Chapter 3, that's not saying much. He dipped out pretty quickly, so I finished on my own.
*Ahem*
Anyway. The content of this book is really interesting, but it's also a bit dry and scientific-process heavy, and it takes a fair bit of patience to make it through some sections. Toward the end, there was a section about fluorescent dye used in medicine and how it came to be discovered and used, and there were like 7 different scientists working on several different research projects and the book outlined how they all fit together with a piece here, from this research, and a piece there, from this other discovery, etc. And yes, it is interesting and really cool, but it's also a LOT to track, with a ton of detail and scientific jargon and lingo and also kinda gross descriptions of stuff. I didn't really know what to expect from this book, but very technical science and gross research processes weren't really high on my list. I thought it would be more high-level, inspiration from nature put into action by innovation and engineering kind of stuff. And it is that too, of course.
I don't even know if this is a criticism, really. Like, I think that the stuff included here is really cool, and it is super fascinating to see how an observation of bioluminescence can translate to human medicine, but I think I could have done with a bit less of the technical process in between.
But, at the same time, I'm not mad about it, because unless we see how things like this come to be, sometimes by luck, sometimes by accident, sometimes by diligent and undaunted research, the links and usefulness of a discovery may be overlooked. One of the comments made within this book is that GENERAL scientific research is gradually being replaced by specific issue-based research. We have X problem - research to solve it. But this book shows that sometimes the "solution" comes from just being open to learning and researching widely and without a specific goal in mind.
So, overall, this was good, and interesting, but a little drier than I expected.
October 9, 2022
I bought this book because of my love of nature and science, and I thought I'd learn a thing or two, but wow! I was not expecting to love this book so much. Nature's Wild Ideas is a surprisingly lyrical exploration of nature-inspired inventions. I've already begun sharing these stories with friends and family. The book is packed with amazing science, fun bits of humor, and philosophical musings. I don't write reviews too often but I really enjoyed this book.
November 9, 2022
What an absolutely fascinating read. This book is so well written and the author covers the subject in such an engaging style it's easy to just lose yourself in the pages. Who knew the natural and science world's were so closely related. I highly recommend this book.
June 20, 2023
Overall, I recommend this book. There are chapters that are science focused, which is why I got it in the first place. However, there are sections, especially the last chapter, that were a bit too much propaganda than what I was looking for.
May 13, 2025
Libro letto con il gruppo di lettura Planet Earth .
Questo è il terzo libro che leggo sull’argomento della biomimetica, e ogni volta resto stupita da quanto la natura possa offrirci un’incredibile varietà di spunti per sviluppare nuove tecnologie e strumenti utili in moltissimi settori.
Un esempio interessante e è quello dei tardigradi, minuscoli organismi in grado di sopravvivere a temperature estremamente basse. Studiando il loro meccanismo di resistenza al congelamento, si sono sviluppati nuovi metodi per la conservazione dei campioni di tessuti, Dna e cellule.
Questo caso, così come tantissimi altri esempi illustrati dall'autrice nel libro (che non vi spoilero), ci ricorda quanto sia essenziale proteggere il nostro pianeta e salvaguardare la biodiversità: ogni specie ancora sconosciuta potrebbe custodire soluzioni preziose, utili a risolvere problemi che nemmeno immaginiamo.
"Quanto più in profondità esploriamo la grande biblioteca della Terra, tanto più impariamo; è un'avventura in un territorio sconosciuto. Che cosa succederebbe se, invece che conquistatori, ci considerassimo i custodi di questa biblioteca?"
Questo è il terzo libro che leggo sull’argomento della biomimetica, e ogni volta resto stupita da quanto la natura possa offrirci un’incredibile varietà di spunti per sviluppare nuove tecnologie e strumenti utili in moltissimi settori.
Un esempio interessante e è quello dei tardigradi, minuscoli organismi in grado di sopravvivere a temperature estremamente basse. Studiando il loro meccanismo di resistenza al congelamento, si sono sviluppati nuovi metodi per la conservazione dei campioni di tessuti, Dna e cellule.
Questo caso, così come tantissimi altri esempi illustrati dall'autrice nel libro (che non vi spoilero), ci ricorda quanto sia essenziale proteggere il nostro pianeta e salvaguardare la biodiversità: ogni specie ancora sconosciuta potrebbe custodire soluzioni preziose, utili a risolvere problemi che nemmeno immaginiamo.
"Quanto più in profondità esploriamo la grande biblioteca della Terra, tanto più impariamo; è un'avventura in un territorio sconosciuto. Che cosa succederebbe se, invece che conquistatori, ci considerassimo i custodi di questa biblioteca?"
October 13, 2025
4.5 rounded down to 4.
Fantastic book on how fundamental biological research in plants and animals led to development of engineering and medical applications. Lots of well researched examples, and snippets. Loved it!
Fantastic book on how fundamental biological research in plants and animals led to development of engineering and medical applications. Lots of well researched examples, and snippets. Loved it!
November 12, 2024
Un libro veramente appassionante su alcune scoperte e innovazioni tecnologiche ( ma, dice l’autrice, potrebbe scrivere un altro libro ) che hanno preso spunto dalla “ lettura” di alcuni libri di quella grande biblioteca che è la natura. Ma alcuni libri stanno scomparendo a causa della nostra presunzione di superiorità che ci pone al vertice di una piramide da cui guardare dall’alto verso il basso considerando inferiori gli altri esseri viventi senza preservarli dall’estinzione causata dai nostri comportamenti. Spesso anche la rinuncia alla ricerca di base per carenza di finanziamenti causata dalla mancanza di visione di un beneficio immediato per l’umanità, comporta la perdita di potenziali scoperte. Ma forse siamo ancora in tempo “ per tramandare ai nostri discendenti un’eredità più preziosa dell’oro, più fragile del vetro e più monumentale della fama: un mondo conservato nell’ambra della nostra protezione”.
November 11, 2025
Interesting concept with interesting factoids, but it reads more like a series of unrelated NatGeo feature articles than anything else. Opening with the author doing something or talking to someone as a way to ease into whatever subject matter. Many digressions were made, and there’s a lot of history explained that I felt could have been more condensed or skipped entirely. Some of it is relevant, but I’m reading the book for the current science, not the history of how mussels were found and started to be used. For those who like more of a narrative around their non-fiction, this would be a good book, but I was really hoping there would be more science considering the book’s subtitle is how nature is inspiring science, not how said science was discovered to begin with or said discoverers’ biographies.
October 29, 2023
So many fascinating insights on how science’s been drawing inspiration from nature. No wonder one would think given that our species is part of nature. And yet, we have practically just begun reading books from nature as the richest library we will ever be privileged to experience. Let us not burn our library to the ground before we have finished reading 🙏
November 28, 2022
Nature's Wild Ideas: How the Natural World Is Inspiring Scientific Innovation is a fascinating combination of biological adaptations and how they inspire new technologies. Kristy Hamilton writes clearly, with an engaging voice. Reading her words fill me with optimism for the future. Highly recommended.
December 5, 2022
The author does a fantastic job of exploring the various ways in which nature has inspired inventions like space telescopes, glues, medicines, and scientific tools. Lots of incredible insights and information provided. The author incorporates scientific research and personal anecdotes into the book. I would recommend to anyone who is interested in nature, biology, or how discoveries are made.
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January 14, 2023This is a fascinating read. A look at how human inventions and technology has been inspired by findings in the natural world -- a space telescope based on the design of lobster eyes, for instance. New, more environmentally friendly refrigeration systems are being built thanks to the study of tardigrades. Super interesting, and also a quick read.
May 2, 2023
Loved it! I’m so inspired by all these inventions and ideas, there’s so much out there to discover and not everything has to be of benefit to humans. There are just some really cool plants and animals with some amazing abilities out there that are going to be extinct before we have a chance to learn from them, it really is like the burning of Alexandria all over again (too soon).
July 21, 2023
Beautiful written. There is warmth. There is humor. There is deep knowledge.
March 23, 2023
Really interesting material, but the style wasn’t for me
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November 15, 2024Przecież to oczywiste, że my - ludzie - jesteśmy wielkimi zgapiaczami. Kopiujemy na potęgę, nawet Matce Naturze nie odpuszczamy. Lecz na poważnie, dzięki tej umiejętności obserwacji i analizy natury rozwijamy przemysł, tworzymy nowe wynalazki, budujemy teleskopy, które otwierają nam drogę do gwiazd a szkielet, ta pusta czacha i nie tylko - jest początkiem lekkich samolotów.
Kristy Hamilton w radosny, optymistyczny i zabawny sposób pokazuje czytelnikowi, jak mocno jesteśmy połączeniu z naturą i jak wiele jej zawdzięczamy (po prawdzie, naturze zawdzięczamy wszystko - życie to natura, natura to - życie). Bardzo dobrze czyta się tę książkę, nie nudzi, interesuje tematami i podzielona jest mądrze a każdy rozdział ciekawie zatytułowany.
DZIKIE POMYSŁY NATURY, to chyba jednak z lepszych pozycji z serii #nauka od bo.wiem Wydawnictwa UJ. Podoba mi się szczerość i bezpośredniość myśli Hamilton. Nie rzuca nam w oczy trudnymi słowami, a raczej dzieli się własnymi doświadczeniami i opowiada często zabawne historie, z których powstał niemal zawsze jakiś ciekawy pomysł.
Począwszy od niezniszczalnych niemal niesporczaków i kończąc na kruchym szkielecie - wszystko to sprawia, że świat ludzi cały czas się rozwija. Natura pokazuje nam drogę, mówi JAK, a my mamy tylko słuchać, myśleć i działać - z takiej postawy zawsze wychodzą rzeczy wielkie.
Polecam sięgnąć po tę pozycje, głównie dlatego, że zmusza do rozejrzenia się, przyglądnięcia się światu - a nóż, może to właśnie ja, może Ty - będziemy nowymi odkrywcami, którym do ucha szepnie niesporczak, jak żyć.
na Ziemi pełnej inspiracji - człowiek kopiuje świat
#nauka
bo.wiem
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
egzemplarz recenzencki
Kristy Hamilton w radosny, optymistyczny i zabawny sposób pokazuje czytelnikowi, jak mocno jesteśmy połączeniu z naturą i jak wiele jej zawdzięczamy (po prawdzie, naturze zawdzięczamy wszystko - życie to natura, natura to - życie). Bardzo dobrze czyta się tę książkę, nie nudzi, interesuje tematami i podzielona jest mądrze a każdy rozdział ciekawie zatytułowany.
DZIKIE POMYSŁY NATURY, to chyba jednak z lepszych pozycji z serii #nauka od bo.wiem Wydawnictwa UJ. Podoba mi się szczerość i bezpośredniość myśli Hamilton. Nie rzuca nam w oczy trudnymi słowami, a raczej dzieli się własnymi doświadczeniami i opowiada często zabawne historie, z których powstał niemal zawsze jakiś ciekawy pomysł.
Począwszy od niezniszczalnych niemal niesporczaków i kończąc na kruchym szkielecie - wszystko to sprawia, że świat ludzi cały czas się rozwija. Natura pokazuje nam drogę, mówi JAK, a my mamy tylko słuchać, myśleć i działać - z takiej postawy zawsze wychodzą rzeczy wielkie.
Polecam sięgnąć po tę pozycje, głównie dlatego, że zmusza do rozejrzenia się, przyglądnięcia się światu - a nóż, może to właśnie ja, może Ty - będziemy nowymi odkrywcami, którym do ucha szepnie niesporczak, jak żyć.
na Ziemi pełnej inspiracji - człowiek kopiuje świat
#nauka
bo.wiem
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
egzemplarz recenzencki
April 28, 2025
20% good/interesting/novel content, 80% obnoxious fluff about "humans bad, killing nature" + just not polished research (e.g. saying the column would crumble if size of a building doubled - that's not true because the compression strength of rock/stone is so large that it's pretty much impossible to crush it in compression with masonry loads - the problem arises from other forces like side thrust).
Also not a big fan of nauseating storytelling where the irrelevant details of the researches are given - no, sorry, I don't care about the leisure preferences of the random scientist who is studying blue mussels.
Style aside, it's fascinating to read about the nature's inventions - so diverse and ubiquitous - and how they inspire scientific innovation and practical application. Makes you wonder how many things are still undiscovered. I think the "traditional" medicine will be making a major comeback in the next few decades, as people empowered by AI will try to figure out the workings of many substances used in traditional medicine, but this time with the scientific rigor.
Overall, I would not recommend this book - probably better to read a summary somewhere.
Also not a big fan of nauseating storytelling where the irrelevant details of the researches are given - no, sorry, I don't care about the leisure preferences of the random scientist who is studying blue mussels.
Style aside, it's fascinating to read about the nature's inventions - so diverse and ubiquitous - and how they inspire scientific innovation and practical application. Makes you wonder how many things are still undiscovered. I think the "traditional" medicine will be making a major comeback in the next few decades, as people empowered by AI will try to figure out the workings of many substances used in traditional medicine, but this time with the scientific rigor.
Overall, I would not recommend this book - probably better to read a summary somewhere.
September 29, 2023
Utterly fascinating! Even though her premise is that since, evolution has resulted in adaptations that have solved problems humans confront with food, energy, transportation, temperature control, and packaging, so we ought to make more use of biomimicry, so we ought to stop the extinction of species for the sake of the human species, Hamilton's genuine, non-instrumental admiration of, and loyalty to the other species she writes about, and to the natural world as a whole, is hard to miss.
July 27, 2024
Well researched, far reaching, and accessible to the average reader in its language and delivery. Still, I think I would have gotten more out of this book, its premise and its many, many examples if I was more scientifically and chemically minded! Still, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in how nature inspires the sciences.
August 5, 2024
This was a really fun read - all about technology and scientific discoveries that are promoting sustainability and innovation by looking into nature for solutions. As with all literature like this, I am inspired by the smart people who are working to save the planet and disheartened by the fact that we are driving our planet to crisis in the first place.
October 20, 2024
A fascinating collection of essays on ideas and products based on nature. One example is the adhesive by which mussels attach themselves to coral and rock in salty & wet ocean water. Researchers are exploring using this type of adhesive INSIDE the human body (also salty & wet) …to essentially use this glue instead of stitches or staples!
December 17, 2024
I love this type of book. Dew harvesting and fog harps, lobster eyes and lighthouses, barnacles and better glue... I thought the connections between the fascinating adaptations of the animal world and human invention were so cool to read about. I listened to this one, and I think it would have been harder for me to make time for if I had read it.
March 26, 2024
(3.5 Stars rounded up to 4)
This was a very interesting and informative book. The audiobook is well paced and engaging.
This is a good book for anyone that likes to know about the animal kingdom, science, innovation, or any combination thereof.
This was a very interesting and informative book. The audiobook is well paced and engaging.
This is a good book for anyone that likes to know about the animal kingdom, science, innovation, or any combination thereof.
February 10, 2024
I love books like this. Got some fun facts from it.
July 1, 2024
Great book to add to extracurricular book collections for students to have the sence of nature appreciation and environmental awareness.
September 14, 2024
If one’s were still in doubt about the marvel Nature…
September 24, 2024
Actual rating: 4.2
I don't read a lot of non-fiction but the way this book was written kept me super engaged! Was like a 10 hr long science podcast and I loved it, learned so much :)
I don't read a lot of non-fiction but the way this book was written kept me super engaged! Was like a 10 hr long science podcast and I loved it, learned so much :)
April 7, 2025
I wasn't impressed with the accuracy of the chapter on concrete but hope the others were more carefully edited. Never easy to summarize the expertise and efforts of others.
September 8, 2025
Semplicemente strepitoso e accattivante
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews