#Repost @studioolafureliasson ・・・ The Invention of Nature - by Andrea Wulf. "Alexander von Humboldt has been largely forgotten in the English-speaking world. He was one of the last polymaths, and died at a time when scientific disciplines were hardening into tightly fenced and more specialised fields. Consequently his more holistic approach - a scientific method that included art, history, poetry and politics alongside hard data - has fallen out of favour. This connection between knowledge, art and poetry, between science and emotions - the deeply-seated bond as Humboldt called it - is more important than ever.” “It was this approach that allowed him to find connections everywhere in nature. Nothing - not even the tiniest organism, was looked at on its own. When nature is viewed as a web, its vulnerability also becomes obvious. Everything hangs together. After he saw the devastating environmental effects of colonial plantations at Lake Valencia in Venezuela in 1800, Humboldt became the first scientist to talk about harmful human-induced climate change.” “As scientists are trying to understand and predict the global consequences of climate change, Humboldt’s interdisciplinary approach to science and nature is more relevant than ever. Naturgemälde, 1802 - ‘microcosm on one page’ as he called it himself, it has also been dubbed the first infographics. To the left and right of the mountain he placed several columns that provided related details and information, ranging from temperature, gravity, and humidity to the blueness of the sky – again all related to the height of the mountain. #humboldt