Dr. Janine Benyus at TEDTED Talk on Biomimicry
Dr. Janine Benyus
In this TED Talk, Dr. Janine Benyus introduces a new field of design and engineering that marries two seemingly different fields. On one hand, engineers are constantly faced with new challenges that require clever new solutions. On the other hand, biologists uncover innovative adaptations in form and function in a variety of different species on Earth. Often times, the solutions to human engineering challenges have already been overcome in some sort of living organism that has evolved some physical feature or biochemical pathway to deal with a similar challenge. Biomimicry is a concept whereby engineers are able to browse a library of biological solutions to inspire their new designs.
TASK: Watch the following TED Talk video entitled “Biomimicry In Action”: https://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action
In your own words, give a definition of “biomimicry” based on this video. Don’t copy from the internet – write this in your own words.
What is the rationale that Benyus gives for why designers should consult nature when seeking solutions to their design problems?
Give THREE EXAMPLES of design solutions from nature that were mentioned in this video. For each example, state (i) the question that the designer was trying to solve, (ii) the organism that the designer looked to for a solution, and (iii) how that organism helped the designer implement a solution.
Visit Benyus’ website http://asknature.org. Benyus and her team have arranged a myriad of ideas into three main categories – Biological Strategies, Inspired Ideas, and Resources. Browse through any one of these three areas and pick just ONE EXAMPLE that fascinates you and write a two paragraph description on how it exemplifies the biomimicry concept.
Note for the assignment – please arrange your response in a bulleted format like this:
Definition answer….
Rationale…
Examples:
Example 1
Question…
Organism…
Solution…
Example 2
Question…
Organism…
Solution…
Example 3
Question…
Organism…
Solution…
TWO paragraph description from asknature.org…

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Dr. Janine Benyus
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Discussion 2: Power of the Situation
The motive to fit in often compels people to do what is considered appropriate behavior in a given situation. Sometimes the compulsion to fit in leads people to say or do something at odds with their sense of self. No one wants to be perceived as weird. Therefore, when the situation calls for a certain kind of behavior, people are likely to comply, even when that behavior is not consistent with their self-concept.
For this Discussion, you will examine conflict between a person’s behavior and sense of self.
To Prepare
Think of a specific situation when you said or did something that you believed was out of character. Note: You will use this specific situation for this Discussion so make sure the situation is one you feel comfortable sharing with your colleagues.
By Day 4
Post a description of a specific situation when you said or did something that conflicted with your beliefs or was out of character. To what would you attribute behavior that did not reflect your sense of self? What compelled you to say or do something that misrepresented your true self? Your analyses must be informed by social psychology theory and research.
Required Readings
Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M., & Sommers, S. R. (Eds.) (2019). Social Psychology (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Chapter 1, “Introducing Social Psychology”
Note: Viewing media and interactives embedded in the electronic version of this course text is not required for this course.
Required Media
Annenberg Learner. (n.d.). The power of the situation [Video file]. Retrieved February 24, 2020, from https://learner.org/series/discovering-psychology/the-power-of-the-situation/

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The motive to fit in often compels people t appeared first on homework handlers.