One of the things I appreciate so much about designing with natural geometries is the fact that not only is the end result more efficient—both in terms of the materials and energy usage—plus cleaner, and quieter, but it’s also invariably more beautiful. Nature’s curving geometries are graceful and elegant, very appealing to the eye. But then, perhaps those geometries so resonate with us because we […]
Seattle Town Hall and Bioneers
I have a busy week ahead of me—I’m speaking at Seattle’s Town Hall on “How Nature Inspires Innovation” and then giving a plenary at the 24th Annual National Bioneers Conference in Marin County. I’ve not been to Town Hall, but have been impressed by the caliber of speakers there. Certainly, if I […]
The elegance of fluid flow
I want to share a past NASA Image for the Day titled Glow with the Flow. This was sent to me by one of my wonderful shareholders, Barbara Renzi, and I wanted to post it earlier, but the site was unavailable […]
Amazing Cephalopods
My wife, Francesca sent me a link to this fascinating video about how certain cephalopods—squid, cuttlefish, and octopus, —employe camouflage. As a scuba diver and snorkeler, I knew a bit about this but admit was surprised at the extent of their abilities, particularly their use of pigments called chromatophores:
Most cephalopods possess chromatophores – that is, colored pigments – which they can use in a […]
Over easy …
A little something to go with breakfast …
It seems that whenever humans create technology to solve a problem, we end up causing detrimental side effects. We created the internal combustion engine, which is less than 30 percent energy efficient, and gave rise to asbestos, chromium, lead, and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) contamination of air, lakes, and aquifers, and escalating asthma rates […]
A bit more about bees …
Just an update— found this on the BBC online site (though if you’re keeping an eye on the ongoing bee crisis, you may have seen this, as it’s from March): Neonicotinoid pesticides ‘damage brains of bees.’ Apparently two research papers were recently published offering substantial evidence that neonicotinoids and coumaphos interfere with bee brain activity, […]
A (Sustainable) Worldwide Economic Wave
Later this week, I’ll be participating in a panel on “The Natural Revolution” at SOCAP13, the Social Capital Markets Conference. It brings to mind the opening to Chapter 3, about this new wave of invention.
By building products and businesses that can maintain […]
A few thoughts on book birthing
I’ve heard it said that bringing a book into the world is a bit like giving birth—there’s a long period of gestation followed by a surprising amount of pushing and shouting just to get the thing into readers hands. In the best of all possible […]
Bees are having a moment
I mentioned bees in my last post, and here we are again. As part of an occasional series on their rooftop apiary, the San Francisco Chronicle’s August 15 Garden section highlighted a visit from Queen Turner, the head of beekeeping for the Ministry of Agriculture in Botswana. Meanwhile, the August 19 issue […]
Hot, hot, hot
Hot. Especially here in California, and of course in Hawaii, where I live. Summer often means high air conditioning use and rolling brownouts.
Here’s a bit from the book about using “swarm logic” to manage cooling needs:
Bees are also key subjects of research on swarm logic, whereby the behavior of a large group of individuals— like a collective of bees, ants, slime molds, or even the […]