“From Stars to Microbes:” The Natureness of Nature

“What is nature?” This may seem like a strange question.

It is early spring in Pennsylvania and you would be hard pressed to find someone who is not talking about or thinking about nature in some manner these days.
“The weather is beautiful today!”
“Oh awesome – I can’t wait to go for a bike ride after work.”
“Do you want to go to dinner where we can sit outside?”
“Yes! Definitely. Let’s go to that restaurant with the great tree in the backyard.”
“I am so happy that my bulbs are finally appearing. I love spring.”

Ok. OK. So, I made these conversations up on the fly. But I guarantee someone in PA is saying something like this right now.

I have the “what is nature” question on my mind often these days because it is the driving force behind my academic work. So, out of curiosity, I posted…