Biomimicry: Let’s Model Nature’s Perfection
Our current world is made up by certain definite truths. These are factors created by nature that structure our universe. The way our bodies work, the way we talk to each other, and the way we act &c. are all determined and exist for a reason.
Fibonacci’s Sequence
Discovered by Leonardo Fibonacci, who first wrote about this sequence in his studies on how rabbits reproduce, the Fibonacci Sequence is found in nature and can be found in the world all around us.
Beginning with zero and one, the sequence continues with the sum of the two preceding numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, etc.
The Golden ratio of these numbers — as shown below — is golden because of it’s proven efficiency and prevalence throughout all of nature’s functions.
Pinecones and leaf/petal patterns are spirals that follow the Fibonacci sequence. This is called “The Golden Spiral” because it is scientifically proven to be the most efficient for order and quantities of things.
Due to series’ of evolution and adaptations in our world, we have developed and formed into the most efficient and “perfect” versions of ourselves.
If living things have already adapted to create the most efficient ways of doing things on our Earth, then why don’t we mimic these when we create new things for our Earth?
The Field of Biomimicry
The term was popularized by Janine Benyus, a biologist author and innovator who is passionate about learning from nature and applying it to our universe.
She believes in inspiring all of our innovation on the basis of nature, for this she created AskNature.org through her Biomimicry Institute that works as a database to research different functions of nature that can be replicated when faced with an issue.
Biomimicry has already inspired so many innovations that we use everyday.
To the left: The 新幹線 (Shinkansen Bullet Train) in Japan was inspired by the beak of kingfishers. Kingfishers are birds that can dive in and out of water in an instant with very little disturbance to the water. Their beaks’ efficiency inspired the nose of the Shinkansen and reduced the noise disturbance and increased speed by 10%.
To the right: Velcro was inspired by burrs. When Swiss engineer George de Mestral was picking the burrs off of his dog, he was inspired by how they worked. The hooks at the ends of the needles inspired him to create velcro.
The natural efficiency and perfections don’t just inspire technology, but also design. Using the Golden Ratio and the Golden Spiral, ratios in design can be perfected and well balanced to match the human eye. As nature is modelled after these proportions, humans tend to react positively to these ratios. That is why it is important to incorporate these into design as well.
I have always used history as a way of studying the nature of our human behavior on a psychological level, but biology can also be used to study the nature of our human behavior as well on a biological and scientific level.
The reason we have two eyes and not one, why we have opposable thumbs, why our noses are located above our mouths, why we go to such lengths for the ones we love: it is all in our human instincts and biology.
If biology is the script of our origins, then it can be the tool for our future too.
Thank you!
Resources:
- https://www.sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/fibonacci-sequence-handy-mathematical-approach-looking-evolution/
- https://compassclassroom.com/blog/fibonacci-numbers/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=126&v=B5p2A5mazEs&feature=emb_title
- https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/golden-ratio-designers/
My name is Alyssa Gould, and I’m passionate about the intersection between Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, and Second Language Acquisition!
Feel free to contact me at alyssa25g25@gmail.com for questions or anything!
