Biomimetics: The Sincerest Form of Flattery | SPIE

This feature on bio-inspired photonics (technology based on how animals use light) quotes MBL/University of Chicago biophysicist Dakota McCoy.

We humans like to think of ourselves as extremely smart, clever, and inventive creatures. After all, in just a few thousand years of civilization, we’ve gone from inventing the wheel to landing on the Moon. But the more we learn about nature and the universe, the more that knowledge has a way of putting human hubris in its place. We learned that Earth isn’t the center of the universe, that human beings are just another part of the animal kingdom, and that natural forces such as hurricanes and earthquakes can sweep away our grandest achievements in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, at least some humans are both smart and humble enough to take clues from nature on how to do some things better. Rather than thinking ourselves the masters of nature, we are learning that it’s often wiser to instead consider ourselves its pupils. That idea has given birth to the science of biomimetics, drawing inspiration from nature for human technology. One facet of that science is bio-inspired photonics, which focuses on how living organisms use light. It’s leading to some fascinating technological innovations useful to humans in both the civilian and military realms, including camouflage and sensing devices. Read rest of the story here.

Biomimetics: The Sincerest Form of Flattery | SPIE