HUMANITY’S MOST HELPING FRIEND: NATURE
We human beings have been through a great deal
of changes in our lifestyle since the very beginning
of our kind, when we first learned how to hunt down
prey using stones and sticks and found wheels to carry
things around, to creating gigantic
airplanes and helicopters. But one
thing for certain has not changed
and most surely will not be in the
future: Nature is the guide to us and
we duplicate it in order to advance
ourselves.
Biomimicry is basically the definition
of that duplication process.
More concisely, it can be said
that biomimicry is the design of
new concepts that are modelled
on biological existences to seek
more sustainable and eco-friendly
approaches on specific issues. We as humans have not
really been good at considering a solution that would
not harm our planet and the universe in the long run.
For instance, as Elon Musk put it together once that
we are performing “the dumbest experiment”, that is
to pollute the Earth with an overwhelming amount of
carbon coming out of the burning of nonrenewable
sources such as refinery oil, coal and natural gas. The
odds are only showing that the results not at all will be
cheering. For that reason only, we must take a step to
understand how to work with nature rather than being
too late to save our planet from destruction. After all, it
is the only planet we have right now.
Studying of nature has always been the most definite
way to bring the finest answer to the table and copies of
nature can be seen everywhere around us. As mentioned
before, the helicopter and the plane we use are products
of the investigation of dragonflies and birds. Even the
wheel itself is thought to be imitated from the way that
termites and ants transport their food or again from
termites we learned how to build up structures with long
durability or adopting from dolphins how to send signals
or making better needles with copying mosquitoes.
There are just too many of these “or” that we are not
sure where the list ends, all we know is that the nature
have not disappointed us in any of those times that we
pursue for an answer. That is why, as Bilkent Laboratory
School, we have chosen “Biomimicry” for the topic of
the annual Science Fair. This time again, the nature has
been kind to us for it has not failed us along the path.
For an observant pair of eyes, there are countless ideas
in nature itself that are waiting for someone to discover.
These discoveries most probably will not let us down on
the journey to comprehend the cosmos and will only
enhance the way we live. Nature is only there to serve
us; a world that worth living in and it has been doing it
for thousands of years now. All we have to do in return is
keep it clean and safe, cooperat with it in order to have a
more livable place. All in all, we, the only creatures that
do damage to the habitat, must not insist recklessly to
make a fight with nature; for we know that if we win, we
will lose.
References:
Benyus, J. (2009, July). Biomimicry in Action.
Biomimicry Institute. (2008). Introduction To
Biomimicry:Foundational Course.
Inc., S. T. (2014, June 6). Inspired by Nature.
Musk, E. (2011, March). The Dumbest Experiment.
Muhammed Berk ALEMDAR
9-A
62
THE CLAPPER 2016 - 2017