The confusion here is that the word can mean what we want it to mean.
We started with 'bionics' in 1960, but Hollywood screwed that up for the
English-speaking world by introducing the concept of "Bionic Man",
restricting the use of the word to what would now be a cyber-something.
"Bionic" is current in non-English-speaking countries. So we say
"Bionics is dead. Long live Biomimetics" (First in print with Schmitt,
O. (1969). Some interesting and useful biomimetic transforms. Third
International Biophysics Congress). Then Janine comes along and calls
her book "Biomimicry" and immediately everyone thinks they're doing
something new. And the pedants say "But we must call this bioinspired
design because it's not copying" or "We must call this biognosis because
all the other words are mixtures of Latin and Greek". But this is a
continuum of effort and intent.
Give me a break! Balance your hi-rise angels on pin-heads, but for
heaven's sake don't tell me or anyone else that I'm doing something
different because I use a slightly different word for it. We are too
early in for that. I suspect we all of us transfer ideas at a variety
of different levels of complexity and completeness. A rose by any other
name . . .
And I'm sorry you had a pedant to review your paper. It's well said
that the toughest part of communication is the last three inches.
Julian
Andrew Rapoff wrote:
> I found Dr. Currey's comment interesting because I once had a reviewer
> write the following about my use of the word "gender" in a manuscript:
>
> " 'gender’ should be ‘sex’ As my reference book says 'It is likely that
> gender and sex will be used with this distinction: sex for physical and
> social aspects, gender more related to cultural and psychological
> differences. But gender needs to be watched so that it does not slip
> into use as a pretentious sheepish synonym for sex' "
>
> ... even though other references give each as the synonym for the
> other. What does this have to do with biomimetics? I think some folks
> are precise about the roots of words. They find the "mimetic" part not
> to be accurate to endeavors that are only inspired by biology.
>
--
Julian FV Vincent [log in to unmask]
Professor of Biomimetics office 01225 386596
Centre for Biomimetics & Natural Technologies mobile 07941 933901
Dept of Mechanical Engineering fax 01225 386928
The University
BATH BA2 7AY
http://www.bath.ac.uk/Departments/Eng/biomimetics/
I hate quotations. Tell me what you know. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
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