Thanks for your note and encouragement. I agree with you on all
points. I should point out, however, that the emphasis on materials
is purely a reflection of the degree of difference between the two
coloured graphs. There are other differences, obviously, but it will
be difficult to understand them until we have a better feeling of
where the differences due to materials have come from, at which point
I can remove them from consideration and see what differences are left
to be accounted for. That said, if you believe Mike Ashby and others,
the advance of our technology is almost entirely based on advances in
materials.
Best wishes
Julian
On 11 Jan 2009, at 18:45, Norbert Hoeller wrote:
> Julian, I think the Virtual Centre would be a great idea. Aside from
> helping to support specific initiatives and building bridges between
> different disciplines, it would be a good home for higher level
> analysis and
> research about the field of biomimetics.
>
> Although new materials is an important driver for technological
> advancement,
> I hope the Centre can also explore other levels of biomimetic
> design, such
> as practical methods and tools to help designers deal with the often
> complex
> systems implications of solutions inspired by nature.
>
> Pending formation of the Centre, I would like to use the Biomimetics
> listserver to explore some of the issues raised earlier. Anyone can
> raise a
> topic, we can judge interest by the level of discussion, and I can
> help
> summarise the results at the end. Depending on the depth and
> breadth of
> the discussion, I can either publish the best summaries in the
> quarterly
> newsletter (currently going to over 3200 subscribers) or work with the
> discussion leader on a more in-depth article.
>
>
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