Next Nature

Think of nature and you’re likely to picture a forest, not a freeway. But how natural is nature really? We live in a world of constructed wildlife reserves, rainbow tulips, designer babies and cultured meat. We control a tomato’s biology so precisely, you can hardly call it natural anymore. Meanwhile, our grip on the Internet and the financial markets has grown so slight that they’re coming to resemble forces of nature.

Using countless well-known examples and scientific insights, Koert van Mensvoort shows how a technosphere is evolving on top of a biosphere billions of years old. He’ll take you on an epic journey full of businesses that breathe, woods that smell like shampoo, and creatures that live on plastic. Along the way, a totally new view of the natural world will unfurl – one that’s not only more realistic but infinitely more creative, exciting and beautiful. To cope with the immense challenges facing the world today, we need to go forward, not back, to nature.

Koert van Mensvoort is a multimedia artist and philosopher who founded the Next Nature Network and gives talks around the world. His Letter to Humanity has been translated into 26 languages. Other projects have included the NANO Supermarket (for nanotech products that could reach the market within a decade); the controversial (and fictional) brand Rayfish Footwear, maker of bio-customized sneakers; and The In Vitro Meat Cookbook. Van Mensvoort is a university fellow at the Eindhoven University of Technology.