I learned a new word today: biophilia.

I was standing at our beach at low tide as the sun was rising to my back and I wondered why I found the scene was so calming, so serene.

So just for fun I pulled out my phone and asked my mate ChatGPT, not expecting to get a proper answer to what I thought was a rather abstract question. In fact, I got a rather extraordinary in-depth reason which delved into the rhythm of waves, the colour blue, the white noise effect, the vastness and perspective, the sense of humility and the fresh air and negative ions. Wow! So that’s why I find it so pleasant to walk on the beach. Good to know.

But ChatGPT said that I was also enjoying the moment most probably due to a concept known as ‘biophilia’. It’s an innate human tendency to feel a connection with nature.

So, as you do these days, I asked ChatGPT to tell me about biophilia.

I learned that the term was coined in 1984 by E.O. Wilson, whose work I am well aware of given that he’s one of greatest biologists of the 20th century. Wilson coined the term “biophilia” to describe the innate human connection to nature. He reckons that our well-being is deeply tied to the natural world. Wilson is an evolutionary biologist and figures that since humans evolved in natural environments, relying on plants, water, and landscapes for food, shelter, and safety that we now have this connection hardwired in our biology.

So when I’m out enjoying pulling weeds in my garden, or watching the sun set, or photographing a wildflower, and I’m finding that all of that reduces stress, improves my mood and just gives me better mental clarity I’m reverting to a bond that has evolved over millennia as humans became dependant on nature for survival.

Now I need to ask ChatGPT why I must work in front of a computer today when I’d rather be out biophiling.