The document discusses Henry David Thoreau's career as a metaphor for the transition from a mystical to mathematical view of nature in American thought. It describes how Thoreau evolved from being influenced by the 18th century theologian Jonathan Edwards' mystical view of nature as revealing God, to accepting the 20th century mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot's mathematical fractal structures in nature. The talk presents Thoreau as a pivotal figure who was both a mystic, transcendentalist and scientist, and suggests re-envisioning nature's beauty can help transform our relationship with the natural world.