The Enduring Mystery of “Structure”

earth
Our one (and only) spaceship

As I set out on this book writing project, the first (and by no means smallest) challenge to surmount is how in the world I’m going to structure a book about a bunch of misfits having a scientific argument. I guess when I put it like that it doesn’t sound so terrible but the danger is that I end up with eight, loosely connected profiles that don’t add up to much. And my ambitions are much larger than that.

So I think I’m going to be imposing an artificial superstructure, like a narrative overlay that can then pull the reader through the book. The idea, at present, is to tell the story of the Anthropocene from the bottom of the sea on up to the far reaches of space, with stops on land (naturally) in between. Organizing the information this way may let the reader feel the pull of what’s to come.

Or not.

Published by

David Biello

is an award-winning journalist writing most often about the environment and energy. His book "The Unnatural World" publishes November 2016. It's about whether the planet has entered a new geologic age as a result of people's impacts and, if so, what we should do about this Anthropocene. He also hosts documentaries, such as "Beyond the Light Switch" and the forthcoming "The Ethanol Effect" for PBS. He is the science curator for TED.

One thought on “The Enduring Mystery of “Structure””

  1. I’m obsessed with structure no matter what the story is! I’ve found that each piece, eventually, warrants different structures that come through with time and play. Good luck.

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