The definition of the word “mimic” is: to imitate (someone or their actions or words), typically in order to entertain or ridicule. During the recent US presidential campaign, Donald Trump did run into some criticism for mimicking a reporter. The reporter, Serge Kovaleski, has arthrogryposis, a congenital condition affecting the joints. In fact, recent polling indicates that this was Trump's single worst offense (among a bevy of candidates) of the campaign.
The moment is captured here,and I believe you will be observing mimicry:
But this post isn’t about that moment, nor about Trump, nor about the negative aspects of mimicry. I use this to show that mimicry can be a bad thing. However, the same word - mimicry - of nature -can be a huge boon to design projects, to project managers, and to the planet itself.
Let’s start by defining biomimicry. On the website biomimicry.org, it’s defined as:
“an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies.”
The site has excellent examples of this practice here. But I’d really like to draw your attention to this outstanding video. Invest a few minutes – watch it, and return here when you’re done.
Notice the number of references which Pawlyn makes to projects, for example, the Mobius project, described in this text from the architects’ website:
“The Mobius Project dedicated to revolutionising the urban food production industry by taking what we need less of, food waste, to producing what we need a great deal more of, locally grown, low carbon, nutritious food.
The Mobius Project, is a replicable urban infrastructure project with the potential to manage all of a cities biological waste issues through a closed loop systems approach, contributing to the rapidly growing circular economy movement. This project draws its inspiration from the way in which ecosystems in nature work where the waste of one systems becomes the input of the next, maintaining nutrients in a perpetual closed cycle with zero waste. “
It includes:
A productive greenhouse
A restaurant serving local food from the greenhouse
Lots of opportunities for projects, project managers, project teams at this particular intersection of sustainability and project management. Here’s one example of biomimicry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, which yielded a trademarked product called GeckSkin™, in which biomimicry of a gecko’s foot pads allows a small piece of fabric to hold 700 lbs. of weight onto a smooth wall surface.
But wait! I almost forgot to tell you about the moth eyes, as promised so boldly in the title. I want to bring this idea of biomimicry home to you with a device on which you are likely reading this very blog post. Are you (lucky enough to be) reading this at the beach? And if not, I’m sure you’ve faced the issue of trying to read from a screen with glare from any overhead lighting. Well, that may be a thing of the past, thanks to biomimicry of the way moths deal with this.
As most everyone knows, moths are nocturnal – they hang out at night. Because of this, moth eyes are covered in anti-reflective nanostructures that prevent light from reflecting off them. This prevents them from giving away their location and making them too visible to predators.
So, scientists – for example, Dr. Shin Tson Wu of the University of Central Florida, working in project research teams, have developed an anti-reflective film, mimicking this moth-eye design, to put right there, on your smartphone or tablet, and save you from that annoying glare. It’s not available yet – as it has to be scaled for mass production – but it’s coming. It’s biomimicry in action.
The benefits of biomimicry don’t stop with the anti-reflectivity – they also – counterintuitively – make the screens easier to clean. From the NPR Article:
"Some commercial anti-reflection films can be contaminated by fingerprints or dust," Wu says. "In our film, we have a special treatment that has a self-cleaning effect," owing to the film's ability to repel moisture left behind by fingerprints. That moisture often traps dust and dirt on your screen.
Key your eyes open for biomimicry opportunities – a positive way to imitate nature!
Good article. However, Trump was not imitating the disabled status of the reporter, since he didn't know he was disabled as his only interaction with him was decades earlier when he reported on Trump. He was imitating what he perceived as the reporter backtracking in a recent article. In fact Trump used the exact same mannerisms when mocking other people (watch from 1:08 - 1:50):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aYFC_7ZIn4
I agree it was unfortunate, and dipped him in the polls, and I understand the purpose of the article. However, if we are going to use political figures to make a point, be prepared for the discussion to turn to an opposing view from what appears to be the author's political persuasion. This response is an example of why politics should be left out of forums, since I have written nothing about biomimicry.
Richard MaltzmanPortfolio Manager| EarthPM LLCAndover, Ma, United States
Thanks, @Sante. I do keep politics out of the discussion, but the example of (either apparent or actual) mimicry was such a good public example that it seemed a good way to illustrate the negative and positive aspects of the single word 'mimic'. Any public figure needs to be aware of not only what you actually do but how it appears. And, as project managers, the 'nugget' I wanted to provide readers relates to the fact that nature is always publicly providing us with good and bad examples of design or process.
