Learning from the Octopus

In Learning from the Octopus, ecologist and policy expert Rafe Sagarin draws on ecology and evolutionary biology to guide the anticipation, mitigation, and response to terrorism and other disasters. We have copied innovations from nature before, and we sometimes steal natures security innovations outright. More than just copying what nature looks like, however, Sagarin argues that we can learn from how nature is organized, how it acts, and how it continually grows and diversifies on this dangerous and unpredictable planet. Adopting the full spectrum of lessons from nature has the potential to transform our security systems from a series of after-the-fact, one-time interventions to proactive, holistic, and adaptable ones that not only protects us from the threats we know about, but prepares us to respond efficiently and effectively to unknown threats lurking in our future.