Who is out there?
Posted: May 28, 2013 Filed under: Personal Exploration | Tags: contribute, learning and growing, many thanks 11 Comments
Who are you magical people that read my rambling blog? Where do you come from and what leads you here?
I recently passed 100 posts, which feels like a lot, and I wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who has ever visited. Knowing there is an audience out there for my thoughts is humbling and inspiring. More recently I’ve begun to take my writing a little more seriously and am workshopping a few different ideas. So I’d love to know more about who you are, and begin to understand what is emerging on Bouncing Ideas.
Please comment me below, or if you’d prefer to send a private email: bouncingideascarl[at]gmail.com.
I’m really curious:
- Where are you in the world?
- Just last week there was a boost in people from Egypt and Sri Lanka – who are you?
- What is your background?
- Design? Biology? Business? Professional Juggler?
- What are you looking for when you come here?
- Biomimicry? Design Thinking? Technology? Sustainability?
- Is there anything missing that you wished I would explore?
- Even better – is there anything you wish to contribute?
Many, many thanks again!
Bouncing Ideas 
From South-West England. I wrote an architecture dissertation on biomimicry a few years ago but still find loads of great cross discipline inspiration from your way of thinking about systems etc (I’m now an ‘academic’ football (soccer) coach).
Alongside biomimicry, Mick Pearce has been my biggest cross discipline inspiration with his ‘form follows process’ approach to design – which he used for his CH2 building in Australia, a sort of Eastgate centre mark 2!
Keep up the good work, love getting the emails with the odd surprise of inspiration!
Thanks again
Jed, England
Thanks so much Jed! The CH2 building has been a huge success – would love to quiz Mick one day about his experiences…
I’ve a copy of his 3 hour long presentation on all of his work if you would like a copy. Drop me an email address and I will ‘wetransfer’ you the powerpoint
I just sent a personal email – but if that gets lost in spam, please use bouncingideascarl@gmail.com
Hi Carl,
I am a Research Scientist in the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois in the US (but I am originally from the Netherlands).
I have a PhD in insect physiology and that is the main topic I teach at Illinois. However, over the last 5 years or so I have become interested in bioinspiration. Actually, the interest is as old as my undergraduate days when I worked in a lab where we studied animal locomotion, but only now I have I been able to develop some courses on bioinspiration/biomimicry. My main goal with these courses and modules is to bring nature in general, and insects in particular, to people who may not have a strong biological background. It is very important to me that I convey basic biological concepts.
I have been following you blog for about 2 years or so. I like your writing about biomimicry very much even though Design is not my background. I always learn something when I come here. I also link to website from my courses.
Your blog has also been an example for me as I myself just started a blog (http://insectsdiditfirst.com/). I am still at the stage where I agonize over blog posts. I still have all these pent up ideas for posts that I have had for 5 years and only now have found the courage to share. At some point I hope to be more comfortable with this medium and share ideas more freely, yet keep a quality of post that I find here.
Keep up the good work! Greetings, M (Twitter: @Cotesia1)
Thank you so much for the reply – your blog is great!
From Copenhagen, Denmark. Writing my dissertation on the role of creativity within the bio-inspired field, how creativity tools (from say design thinking) may lead to more appropriate outcomes, and how biomimetics can be a driver of creativity within more traditional design processes (priming effect of looking at natural solutions leading to more remote associations = more creativity).
So naturally, this blog is a go-to place for inspiration and knowledge (and it is partly responsible for choosing my thesis topic). I’d love to see a post where you explore why design tools are good for the biomimicry process, and how one could bridge the gap between biology and design.
/Torbjørn
Phew… not sure where to begin with bridging the gap using design thinking. Have been collecting a lot of thoughts around this and am finding it difficult to get a starting point. Thanks for the nudge, will explore further.
Great stuff, Carl. Congrats on your first 100 posts!
I only recently discovered your blog but have really been enjoying it as a collection of interesting, informative and inspiring ideas. It seems like a very useful resource is in the making.
I have regretted at times not studying Biomimicry at OCAD when I had the chance, so this is a great way to catch up on some powerful concepts as well as the process of incorporating these principles to create innovative designs. Also, nice links and external references…many threads of knowledge to go pulling on.
Keep up the good work and enjoy!
From Boston, MA. Bouncing Ideas spurred me to write ecointerface.org – and continues to be a place I go to have conversations with fascinating folks who share the same interest of that dynamic place between biology and design.
Hi Carl – I’m a first-year Biomimicry PhD student at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. My doctoral advisor, Peter Niewiarowski, recommended your blog last year. It’s been a great source of [bouncing] ideas! I’ve found that what’s written about biomimicry – both in academic journals and in the blogosphere – is heavy on case studies and light on theory development. Your posts represent a step towards a better balance – riddled with important, thought-provoking questions.