Tom Brown III is back. In this episode, we delve into the importance of nature to our well-being and into how to live and thrive as the human animal that we are.

Tom's bio: Tom, otherwise known as “T3”, has been a practitioner and teacher of primitive living skills, wilderness survival, tracking, and nature observation from an early age. Growing up in New Jersey at the Tracker School, he was raised with deep reverence and respect for wild places and the skills our ancestors used to live close to the land. After graduating high school, he spent a few years wandering the country, practicing the skills he learned as a child in both urban and wilderness environments. He eventually returned to Tracker School and after a few years became head instructor and director of operations. In 2009 he left Tracker School to start the Primitive Arts Collective, an outdoor education program that sought to teach people in small groups in many different states across the country. In 2016 Tom moved to Oregon and now works with Trackers Earth. Tom’s role at Tracker’s Earth involves being both the land steward and an adult educator. His unique insight and first-hand knowledge about how large groups of people interact with the landscape help him and the Tracker’s team ensure healthy land management practices. These pratices will benefit not only the students but also the wild things that are the centerpiece of these rural locations. Tom loves all things wild and free. During his downtime, you can find him on a river somewhere fly-fishing for steelhead with his Spey rod and exploring all the beautiful things the PNW has to offer. He is also the Foraging/Homesteading Coordinator and contributor for Anchored Outdoors.

Tom's bio on Trackers Earth: https://trackerspdx.com/staff.php
Tom's Instagram: Tom_brown3
Tom's Website: www.tombrown3.com

Contact Michael:
1. ccerpodcast@aol.com
2. http://www.goldams.com
3. https://www.facebook.com/EpistemeRx/
4. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/

External links to what we discussed and to further research:
1. Biophilia: our love for and connection to nature
a. "Humans have always been drawn to, dependent on, and fascinated by the natural world. Biophilia, which literally translates to “love of life,” is the idea that this fascination and communion with nature stem from an innate, biologically-driven need to interact with other forms of life such as animals and plants." (from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/biophilia)
b. "a hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature " (from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biophilia)
c. the biophilia hypothesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis
d. The book Biophilia by E.O. Wilson will give you more information if you want to dig deeper: https://www.amazon.com/Wilson-Biophilia-Diversity-Naturalist-Library/dp/1598536796/

2. Our need for nature
a. "What is Nature-Deficit Disorder?" by Richard Louv
http://richardlouv.com/blog/what-is-nature-deficit-disorder/
b. "No More 'Nature-Deficit Disorder' " by Richard Louv
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/people-in-nature/200901/no-more-nature-deficit-disorder
c. Nature Deficit Disorder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_deficit_disorder
d. The book "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv will give you more information if you want to dig deeper:
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Child-Woods-Children-Nature-Deficit/dp/156512605X/
e. The book "The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative" by Florence Williams will give you more information if you want to dig deeper:
https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Fix-Happier-Healthier-Creative/dp/0393355578/

3. Health and Fitness
"Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases" by Boothe, Roberts, and Laye
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4241367/

4. Aristotle and biology
a. the stars for ancient Platonists seem to be like modern technology for too many moderns: it distracts them from and pulls their attention from life, the earth, and reality. Aristotle calls us to focus on life and this earth, and to be real.
b. A quote about Darwin and Aristotle: "Charles Darwin's famous 1882 letter, in which he remarks that his ‘two gods’, Linnaeus and Cuvier, were ‘mere school‐boys to old Aristotle’, has been thought to be only an extravagantly worded gesture of politeness. However, a close examination of this and other Darwin letters, and of references to Aristotle in Darwin's earlier work, shows that the famous letter was written several weeks after a first, polite letter of thanks, and was carefully formulated and literally meant. Indeed, it reflected an authentic, and substantial, increase in Darwin's already high respect for Aristotle, as certain documents show. It may also have reflected some real insight on Darwin's part into the teleological aspect of Aristotle's thought, more insight than Ogle himself had achieved, as a portion of their correspondence reveals." (https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287956.001.0001/acprof-9780199287956-chapter-15)
c. . Prof. Armand Marie Leroi (Imperial College London), who wrote "The Lagoon: how Aristotle invented science," talking about Aristotle and biology (a beautiful and fascinating video):
i. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN8ortM4M3o
ii. same as above, but in four parts starting with this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW77zp-1Ons
iii. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYro4kkPxiA
d. Aristotle and biology (article for philosophers or the "intelligent, studied layperson"): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-biology/

5. Health and COVID
a. "Low Vitamin D Levels Tied to Odds for Severe COVID"
https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200925/low-vitamin-d-levels-tied-to-higher
b. "Obesity And Covid Death Rate Closely Linked In New Study"
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/03/04/obesity-and-covid-death-rate-closely-linked-in-new-study/?sh=4b606fa4643

6. Some info on social media and suicide.
a. "Social media, internet use, and suicide attempts in adolescents" by Sedgwick, Epstein, et. al.
https://journals.lww.com/co-psychiatry/Fulltext/2019/11000/Social_media,_internet_use_and_suicide_attempts_in.12.aspx
b. "Suicide and Social Media" by Libby Mitchell
https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/postings/2017/08/suicide-sm.php
c. "Social media use can be positive for mental health and well-being"
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/social-media-positive-mental-health/?fbclid=IwAR30NPrm6xKKludWyssYkwCf0WyEikExyTqrE88n58ysWxxrLYMuFFPOQag
d. Suicide in the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_the_United_States

7. Embracing the cold -- in a smart manner
a. The dialogue in "ICE SWIM | Feeling the power from the cold" is deep, beautiful, and poetic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEDmZlVCCzc
b. "Explained: How Tibetan Monks Use Meditation To Raise Their Body Temperature" by Jessica Bush: https://www.buzzworthy.com/monks-raise-body-temperature/
c. "Harvard Study Confirms Tibetan Monks Can Raise Body Temperature With Their Minds" by Alex Kasprak: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/harvard-study-confirms-tibetan-monks-can-raise-body-temperature-with-their-minds/
d. "Wim Hof, The Iceman Cometh | HUMAN Limits"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6XKcsm3dKs
e. Wim Hoff's Website: https://www.wimhofmethod.com
f. Wim Hoff bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof

8. "The Science of Wool" https://weatherwool.com/pages/the-science-of-wool/

9. Breathing
a. How to breathe | Belisa Vranich | TEDxManhattanBeach
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sgb2cUqFiY
b. box breathing: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321805#takeaway
c. another about box breathing: https://www.healthline.com/health/box-breathing#getting-started
d. How to breath properly:
i. https://www.coreexercisesolutions.com/belly-breathing/
ii. https://yurielkaim.com/belly-breathing/

10. Walking and running well
a. "Kelly Starrett & the 12 Steps to Running without Pain" (podcast episode)
https://lifeafterpain.com/info/posture/kelly-starrett-pain-free-running/
b. "How Kelly Starrett and Japan Fixed My Running Form"
https://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/how-kelly-starrett-and-japan-fixed-my-running-form-w209367/
c. The podcast "Foot Function with Mobility Wod’s Kelly Starrett" (The Barefoot Movement Podcast 16 July 2019) is interesting and good. https://overcast.fm/+OOePzyCXM
d. "Ready to Run" by Kelly Starrett
https://www.amazon.com/Ready-Run-Unlocking-Potential-Naturally/dp/1628600098
e. "Becoming a Supple Leopard" by Kelly Starrett
https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Supple-Leopard-2nd-Performance/dp/1628600837/
f. The podcast "Natural Running with Dr Brett Hill" (The Barefoot Movement Podcast 28 June 2019) is interesting and good. https://overcast.fm/+OOeO-qNmU
g. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
by Christopher McDougall, Fred Sanders, et al.: https://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189/
h. Natural Born Heroes: Mastering the Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance by Christopher McDougall: https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Born-Heroes-Mastering-Endurance/dp/0307742229/

11. Rewilding
a. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rewilding_(conservation_biology)
b. https://rewildingeurope.com/what-is-rewilding/

12. The ecological role of mosquitoes
a. https://animals.mom.com/mosquitoes-valuable-ecosystem-8494.html
b. https://science.thewire.in/environment/the-ecological-importance-of-mosquitoes/
c. https://www.nature.com/news/2010/100721/full/466432a.html

Image and bio courtesy Tom Brown III