Thursday, September 9, 2010

Art about memory, the science of the brain and universal experiences

I've been thinking a lot about experiences we all have.

looking at the sky and seeing clouds
watching yourself being stung by a bug
looking at the bottom of a pool or late before you jump in
dreams about putting out fires or peeing - usually mean that you are wetting the bed.

teeth falling out in dreams
the dreams where you are being chased and it's like running through thick mud
falling
the strength of vanilla and it's assocaiating memories

I'm thinking of those moments in movies and art when they call on this commonality.

do people from other cultures have the dreams where they are giving a presentation and are naked?

Sleepwalker. Eric Fischi 1948 - 1979

Monday, September 6, 2010

3.8 billion years of field testing - the field of Biomimicry

A field created by the lovely and brilliant Janine Benyus!!

janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html

Janine Benyus shares nature's designs: http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_shares_nature_s_designs.html

Taken DIRECTLY from their website from the Biomimicry Institute -->
http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/about-us/what-is-biomimicry.html

(I just cut and pasted - this material is not mine but that of the site sighted above) http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/about-us/what-is-biomimicry.html

"What is Biomimicry?"

"Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a new discipline that studies nature's best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. Studying a leaf to invent a better solar cell is an example. I think of it as "innovation inspired by nature."
The core idea is that nature, imaginative by necessity, has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with. Animals, plants, and microbes are the consummate engineers. They have found what works, what is appropriate, and most important, what lasts here on Earth. This is the real news of biomimicry: After 3.8 billion years of research and development, failures are fossils, and what surrounds us is the secret to survival.
Like the viceroy butterfly imitating the monarch, we humans are imitating the best adapted organisms in our habitat. We are learning, for instance, how to harness energy like a leaf, grow food like a prairie, build ceramics like an abalone, self-medicate like a chimp, create color like a peacock, compute like a cell, and run a business like a hickory forest.
The conscious emulation of life's genius is a survival strategy for the human race, a path to a sustainable future. The more our world functions like the natural world, the more likely we are to endure on this home that is ours, but not ours alone.

Looking at Nature as Model, Measure, and Mentor

If we want to consciously emulate nature's genius, we need to look at nature differently. In biomimicry, we look at nature as model, measure, and mentor.
Nature as model: Biomimicry is a new science that studies nature’s models and then emulates these forms, process, systems, and strategies to solve human problems – sustainably. The Biomimicry Guild and its collaborators have developed a practical design tool, called the Biomimicry Design Spiral, for using nature as model.

Nature as measure: Biomimicry uses an ecological standard to judge the sustainability of our innovations. After 3.8 billion years of evolution, nature has learned what works and what lasts. Nature as measure is captured in Life's Principles and is embedded in the evalute step of the Biomimicry Design Spiral.

Nature as mentor: Biomimicry is a new way of viewing and valuing nature. It introduces an era based not on what we can extract from the natural world, but what we can learn from it.

Learn More About Biomimicry:

To learn even more, expore the In the News links, articles, and videos available through our Media page. "
this was taken directly from the website from the Biomimicry web site - I claim none of the information above as my own in any way.
http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/about-us/what-is-biomimicry.html

Janine Benyus - Nature's Blueprints: Biomimicry in the Built World--> http://vimeo.com/13391315

Janine Benyus - Nature's Blueprints: Biomimicry in the Built World from College of the Atlantic on Vimeo.

Here are some more helpful articles:
http://brainz.org/15-coolest-cases-biomimicry/

it's about time I talk about nerdy fonts

I have neglected to talk about art/design in science for a while - specifically - nerdy science fiction, which Ben and I have been indulging in while we work on this never ending project

none the less -
nerdy fonts - and I'm finding places for you to get them.

actually - some of my favorite design displays the joys of when art and science intermingle and create beautiful font babies
such as the following:

Nerd it up - here are some fonts to make you're head spin:

Star Trek Fans anyone?

Free downloads of the fonts here: http://members.outpost10f.com/~lindax/hp/multimedia/star_trek_fonts.html
more geeky fonts: http://www.rewardprograms.org/thefreegeek/features/top_25_geekiest_free_fonts_and_where_you_can_get_them.html