Julian is absolutely right. Biomimetics, or whatever else you call it,
should concentrate on biology and engineering, and leave the semantic
navel-gazing to the philosophers, who have nothing better to do these days
except argue about what 'philosophy' means.
Dylan Evans (PhD in Philosophy)
Dylan Evans
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Bath
Bath
BA2 7AY
Tel: +44-1225-384254
Fax: +44-1225-386928
http://www.dylan.org.uk
On Thu, 6 Nov 2003, J F V Vincent wrote:
> I find this differentiation between "biomimetics", "biomimicry" (and by
> inference, "bionics" and "bioinspired design" etc) to be at best a waste of
> time and effort, and at worst ironically divisive in a branch of science
> which is supposed to be globally inclusive, melding biology with all sorts
> of other disciplines and studies. Is the version of architecture that I
> find myself talking about any different from that which Janine Benyus and
> her helpers discuss? And if so, why? Is it because we have different
> labels or because we are different people?
>
> Let's get rid of all this spurious identification with words - that what I
> do is different from what you do because I identify with a marginally
> different word. Nobody outside the area is going to find it useful, and it
> becomes ever more confusing to new entrants to the subject, who feel that
> they have to identify with some small zone before they can take part.
>
> In one of the chapters in her book, Janine interviewed people attending a
> sub-symposium of the US Materials Research Society. At the time we all
> thought we were doing biomimetics. Does that mean that we should expunge
> that chapter from the book in the interests of intellectual purity?
>
> Please. We are praeternaturally lumpers, not splitters.
>
> Julian Vincent
>
> Quoting "" <[log in to unmask]>:
>
> > Posted by: Norbert Hoeller <[log in to unmask]>
> >
> > Sarah, have you checked out
> > http://thinkcycle.org/tc-notes/?topic_id=40413&type_id=0 - the main
> > Biomimicry
> > topic on ThinkCycle? There are a 19 'Notes' including pointers to other
> > resources such as the Biomimicry website, a CBC special on Biomimicry, and
> > the
> > book by Janine Benyus. There is also a set of clippings about Biomimicry
> > (clearly not comprehensive - I'm always interested in new material).
> >
> > Are there specific examples that you are most interested in? In general,
> > what
> > got you started in Biomimicry, and how do you see applying it? Have you
> > investigated Biomimetics? Similar underlying concept, but tending to have
> > more
> > of an engineering/materials focus.
> >
> > --------------------
> > This is a posting from the ThinkSpace: BioInspire Monthly Publication
> > bboard.
> > To reply you can go to:
> > http://thinkcycle.org/tc-bboard/message-
> threaded?message_id=41696&forum_id=41301#45932
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> >
> >
>
--
Dylan Evans
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Bath
Bath BA2 7AY
Tel: +44-1225-384254
Fax: +44-1225-386928
http://www.dylan.org.uk/
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