I recently read Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

From the highlights I made, gardening and terraforming, including ecopoiesis, dominated.

According to NASA, “Ecopoiesis is the concept of initiating life in a new place; more precisely, the creation of an ecosystem capable of supporting life. It is the concept of initiating “terraforming” using physical, chemical and biological means including the introduction of ecosystem-building pioneer organisms.” https://www.nasa.gov/content/mars-ecopoiesis-test-bed/

The work the Martians were doing to bring life to Mars was likened to gardening, to that level of responsibility to the land. During a conversation among some of the gardeners, one of the participants mentioned that a number of the groups followed specific precepts of famous gardeners. Specifically:

Japanese: Muso Soseki
Chinese: Fu Hsi (feng shui)
Persian: Omar Khayyam
American: Leopold or Jackson or Oskar Schnelling (ecologists and biologists)

Further study is needed on these gardeners.

Mathematics

One of the Martians, Sax, was trying to understand the work of the newer generation of scientists were working on. So he spent some time each morning learning the necessary math. I spend some time each morning learning math I understood 50 years ago or more. To really understand nature and technology, understanding the math involved is crucial. Sax was working on very advanced math. I am working currently on Algebra 2 and basic Geometry.

Memory

Sax sustained a head injury that required substantial medical intervention, including to improve damaged memory systems. Aging brains also seem subject to deteriorating memory systems. He speculates that a node-and-network system approach, like the memory palace, might echo the physical system.

Terraforming Venus

The humans at one point are heating the Martian surface with giant mirrors. Some humans object, and there is a violent conflict. To end the conflict, the mirrors are moved to Venus. While the orientation of the mirrors heated the Martian surface, the orientation of the mirrors with respect to Venus helped to cool the planet. I have read a reasonable amount, though mostly fiction, on Martian terraforming, I have read almost nothing on Venusian terraforming. Seems worth investigating.