For some reason, my previous post via e-mail does not show any content
unless you are logged in. Apologies for re-posting.
An article that touches on some of the points Ashok raised was published in
the November 2008 BioInspired! Newsletter
(http://biomimicry.typepad.com/newsletter/2008/11/november-2008-newsletter-issue-64.html)
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(Ashok Goel) The listserver rejected my posting. This is what I had said:
Happy new year to you as well, Norbert.
Lots of good points. I will briefly take on just one that specially
interests me:
>Can the function delivered by biological systems be divorced from the
process by which the function was developed?
>Or is the process key in gaining the full benefit from the function?
At Georgia Tech, we are exploring the view that teleology - the coupling of
functions and processes - is a key in successful analogical transfer of
biological knowledge to engineering systems.
We have developed design representations that attempt to explicitly capture
the teleology of complex systems such as biological systems.
Our expectation is that if we can capture the teleological similarity
between biological and engineering systems, then perhaps we can begin to
facilitate principled and productive transfer of biological design patterns.
We should see in the next few months how this begins to shake out. Thanks.
Best,
Ashok
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Ashok K. Goel
School of Interactive Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
85 Fifth Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA
URL: http://home.cc.gatech.edu/dil/3; Phone: 404-894-4994; Fax:
404-894-0673
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