Award winning and bestselling author Andrea Wulf tells the story of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), the great scientist and intrepid explorer who has more things named after him than anyone else. His restless life was packed with adventure and discovery, whether exploring deep into the rainforest or climbing the world’s highest volcanoes. He turned scientific observation into poetic narrative, and his writings inspired naturalists and poets such as Darwin and Goethe but also politicians such as Jefferson and Bolivar.
Humboldt explained nature as a complex web of life and interconnected global force – a concept that still shapes our thinking today. He described earth as a living organism that could easily be destroyed by humankind and predicted harmful human–induced climate change already in 1800. Using many dozens of Humboldt’s own drawings, engravings, maps and manuscripts as well as the lush and colourful pages from her illustrated book, ‘The Adventures of Alexander von Humboldt’, Wulf brings this forgotten father of environmentalism (and complexity science?) back to life.
Andrea is a Santa Fe Institute Miller Scholar twice over.
Andrea will be signing copies of her book in the Lensic lobby prior to the lecture.
Reserve your free tickets to this event via the Lensic's box office. Please abide by the Lensic's COVID safety protocols.
You can live stream this lecture via SFI's youtube. Please note that at the lecturer's request, a recording of this event will not be available after the fact.
The 2022 Santa Fe Institute Community Lecture Series is generously underwritten by the McKinnon Family Foundation, with additional support from the Lensic Performing Arts Center and the Santa Fe Reporter.