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Auras - The Energy of Life
Auras - The Energy of Life
I have seen auras my entire life. I remember feeling surprised and confused when I first learned that not everyone is able to see auras. This sense of bewilderment led me to search for clues at an early age as to what...
Cellphones are the devil’s work
Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone? – Cartoon caption by James Thurber. But I say, “I will not pick up my cellphone even if you called the right number. Message/Text me.” Let’s put this straight: cellphones are a...
Dreams or Dreamers? Part Two
This fossil fish recovery of information is good, but debunkers would say he was lucky or the dream was a fiction created to promote himself or his place of work. In many cases they are right about these suppositions, in the cases they are wrong...
Incest, Rape and Religions
“The first cities of the Americas were spaces marked out for the ample expansion of celebration, joy, worship, play, praise! In the space of celebration built by the people themselves and for themselves, they came together in joy, in beauty, and...
Is Quantum Physics the End of Dualism?
Dualism seems to be the biggest concept in history ever. Quantum Physics may lead us to a new paradigm shift in consciousness.
Our consciousness is programmed with the basic concept of dualism. Either it is this way or it is the other way,...
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Nature's Calling
Throughout history mankind's progress has been charted and
referred to by his use of materials. Throughout the stone,
bronze iron and steel ages these materials made a major
contribution to mankind's development. But now in the 21st
century, we live in the age of materials. For technology to
advance further we need to improve all sorts of materials,
looking to nature for inspiration.
This exiting field of research is known by several names
Bionics, Biomimetics, or Biomimicry. Wikipedia define
Biomimetics as
".. the application of methods and systems found in nature to
the study and design of engineering systems and modern
technology. This technology transfer is desirable because
evolutionary pressure typically forces natural systems to become
highly optimized and efficient. A classical example is the
development of dirt- and water-repellent paint (coating) from
the observation that the surface of the lotus flower plant is
practically unsticky for anything (lotus effect). Examples of
bionics results in engineering include hulls of boats imitating
the skin membrane of dolphins, sonar, radar, and medical
ultrasound imaging imitating echolocation of bats."
Biomimetics has also been one of the most significant forms of
inspiration for 21st century experimental computer science.
Seeking Natures advice has lead to the conception and
development of cybernetics, artificial neurones, artificial
neural networks, and swarm intelligence. One field of
experimental computing has superseded nature by simulating
evolution, which has produced highly optimised solutions that
have not arisen in nature. This exiting field is known as
evolutionary computing (Who'd have guessed that one?).
There are countless
inventions already created through the
biomimetic approach. Perhaps the most famous of these was
created by Swiss engineer George De Mestral in 1948, who after a
walk one day, was cleaning his dog of burrs and suddenly
realised how they worked, and shortly afterwards created Velcro.
As computing experts and microprocessor designers are rapidly
reaching the limits of what can be done with silicone, the need
for natural solutions such as those based on the human brain
(neural networks) or those that use DNA to store and process
data (DNA computing) becomes ever more important.
The significance of Biomimetics is perhaps said best in the
following quote:
"Nature has been conducting evolutionary experiments for
millions of years, so if we're lucky enough to find something
close to what we require in nature, then it's very likely to
have been highly optimised, and we're unlikely to do much
better." -Greg Parker
Personally, I feel that this something that we should all bear
in mind, one flash of inspiration from nature could benefit all
of mankind forever. Anyway if reading this has sparked your
interest in Biomimetics be sure to check out the following pages:
http://www.biomimicry.net/case_studies_materials.html
http://www.biomimicry.net/case_studies_processes.html
http://www.bath.ac.uk/mech-eng/biomimetics/about.html
About the author:
The Disgruntled Wogbeast is a dark and cynical creature that
lives in the bowels of the earth somewhere beneath a country
called Wales in the UK. Please check out the link below to the
DWB's only line of communication to the outside world.
the
Disgruntled Wogbeast
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