Why Science is Wrong

Leonardo da Vinci was obsessed with manned flight. He never successfully built a flying machine, although he did design a helicopter-like machine that would have worked, had he built it, and he was reported to have successfully tested the first parachute. But a working flying machine eluded him because he was fixated on flapping wings. Had he thought of fixed-wing aircraft, nobody would ever have heard of the Wright brothers.

But you can't blame Leonardo. It is only natural that we look to our environment for clues. The practice of nature-inspired inventions is called biomimicry. Examples of biomimicry abound. Velcro, for example, is an invention inspired by plant burrs. The design of turbine blades is based on the shape of the flippers of humpback whales. Gecko Tape was invented by Manchester University scientists who observed how geckoes are able to climb along ceilings leaving little to no residue.

Biomimicry is a brilliant starting point for inventions. It is a sort of challenge to scientists - can we make something artificial that exists in nature? I recently read an article that engineers have just now managed to construct a set of robotic legs that perfectly mimic the way humans walk. To accomplish this, they used a complicated series of motors and belts. That is truly an amazing feat (no pun intended).

But now comes the "however". Nature is limiting. We need to stop looking at things we see around us for inspiration. It's truly amazing that we can clone a sheep - but we already have sheep. We need to be a bit more creative.

That's why I have invented a new branch of science called 'artaficimimicry'. Artaficimimicry is a challenge to the world's best and brightest to shape nature with our artificial objects. Let's bend nature to our will. Why? Because I want to eat an orange that tastes like Fanta.