My family and I attended the 'Da Vinci - The Genius' exibition in December and what stood out for me the most was the concept of biomimicry. In all of his inventions he used natural concepts and designs (that have evolved and been perfected over millions of years!), from the gliders to ball bearings to underwater vehicles. Even today, many of problems we face are solved and can be solved by investigating how nature has adapted and done it for millenia.
My biggest bug bear in this era is the waste we humans generate which is in total contrast to what nature does. In the book +TheBlueEconomy, each process uses the principles of nature and biomimicry so no waste is generated. Nature knows no waste as every particle is used and benefits everything else in the value chain. The series Trashopolis on pay TV (DSTV in South Africa) is a documentary which investigates each large city on earth on how the waste is handled. Mexico City was discussed last night and it was scary. The biggest landfill in the world! 400 hectares of rubbish. But what gave me relief at the end (otherwise I would not have been able to sleep last night) were the ways the city was dealing with the problem. From recycling the different materials to injecting the organic waste with bacteria to make compost. So a positive outcome that slows the growth of the landfill, as each citizen still generates around 1,5kg of waste each day but we still languish in waste! From a big picture/system point of view, tackle this problem from the source....but this is however another discussion on it's own.
Biomimicry is applicable in the medical industry, building and construction, even information technology. Since we are part of nature ( and some might disagree with me), let's do what she does and work with her. We are after all, one.
Leonardo was a genius, for me because he recognized what nature had created and designed. If only we stop re-inventing and re-designing from scratch....because it is all there already.
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