Systems and Innovation

The Unnatural Economy: Reclaiming Nature's 3.8 Billion Year Design Manual 1 The Unnatural Economy - Part 1: The One Percent Solution: Why 3.8 Billion Years of R&D Matters 2 The Unnatural Economy - Part 2: The Spiral Mandate: Why Nature Never Uses a Straight Line 3 The Unnatural Economy - Part 3: Dragging the Past: From Sharkskin to Supersonic Efficiency 4 The Unnatural Economy - Part 4: The Zero-Waste Blueprint: Fungi, Mussels, and Green Chemistry 5 The Unnatural Economy - Part 5: The Corporate Jungle: The High Cost of the "Not Invented Here" Syndrome ← Series Home Key Takeaways NIH syndrome: “Not Invented Here” resistance kills promising biomimetic innovations. Financial barriers: Venture capital demands unrealistic returns, while industrial timelines require patient capital. Institutional inertia: Government and military procurement can take 10+ years. Entrepreneurial adaptation: Success requires navigating corporate psychology and finding niche markets. The Dolphin Boat Breakthrough The path into the traditional boating world, an ultraconservative industry, began with a moment of validation: the radically curved, dolphin-modeled WildThing watercraft was so compelling that it forced the judges at an international boat show to award it a shared first prize over the massive, costly displays of industry giants like Yamaha. The boat’s organic shape, designed for minimal drag and maximal lift, was a direct application of biological streamlining. ...

The Unnatural Economy: Reclaiming Nature's 3.8 Billion Year Design Manual 1 The Unnatural Economy - Part 1: The One Percent Solution: Why 3.8 Billion Years of R&D Matters 2 The Unnatural Economy - Part 2: The Spiral Mandate: Why Nature Never Uses a Straight Line 3 The Unnatural Economy - Part 3: Dragging the Past: From Sharkskin to Supersonic Efficiency 4 The Unnatural Economy - Part 4: The Zero-Waste Blueprint: Fungi, Mussels, and Green Chemistry 5 The Unnatural Economy - Part 5: The Corporate Jungle: The High Cost of the "Not Invented Here" Syndrome ← Series Home Key Takeaways Zero-waste imperative: Nature creates conditions conducive to further life, with no permanent toxins or waste. Fungal remediation: Mycelium can reduce hydrocarbon pollution from 20,000 ppm to 200 ppm in 8 weeks. Green chemistry: Molecules designed to be safe by nature, reducing liability and compliance costs. Mussel adhesives: Non-toxic, underwater-curing glues replacing harmful formaldehyde. The Ancient Fungal Giant The realization that the largest and arguably oldest living entity on Earth is a vast, interconnected fungal colony spanning twenty-three hundred acres beneath Oregon’s Malheur National Forest—and estimated to be up to 8,600 years old—reframes our understanding of biological architecture. This hidden, root-like network, or mycelium, is the earth’s essential engine, responsible for decomposing organic compounds via hairlike strands. As mycologist Paul Stamets has passionately argued, this silent, subterranean architect holds the key to solving some of humanity’s most intractable problems. ...

The Unnatural Economy: Reclaiming Nature's 3.8 Billion Year Design Manual 1 The Unnatural Economy - Part 1: The One Percent Solution: Why 3.8 Billion Years of R&D Matters 2 The Unnatural Economy - Part 2: The Spiral Mandate: Why Nature Never Uses a Straight Line 3 The Unnatural Economy - Part 3: Dragging the Past: From Sharkskin to Supersonic Efficiency 4 The Unnatural Economy - Part 4: The Zero-Waste Blueprint: Fungi, Mussels, and Green Chemistry 5 The Unnatural Economy - Part 5: The Corporate Jungle: The High Cost of the "Not Invented Here" Syndrome ← Series Home Key Takeaways Counterintuitive efficiency: Rough sharkskin reduces drag better than smooth surfaces. Fuel savings: 5% drag reduction can save 1,814 tonnes of fuel per ship annually. Whale tubercles: Bumps on flippers enable 40% higher angles of attack. Propulsion breakthroughs: Fish tails achieve 85% efficiency vs. 70% for ship propellers. The Shark Feeding Frenzy The phosphorescent glow of the searchlight cut through the churning water of the Dampier Archipelago, revealing a sight of pure, ruthless biological efficiency: twenty to thirty sharks boiling the ocean, engaged in a violent feeding frenzy. This close encounter underscores the competitive environment that drives biological adaptation to its highest degree. Sharks, compelled to be constantly moving to push water through their gills, are the ultimate result of this evolutionary pressure—a masterclass in hydrodynamic streamlining. Their survival mandates minimal energy use to maximize hunting vigor. ...

The Unnatural Economy: Reclaiming Nature's 3.8 Billion Year Design Manual 1 The Unnatural Economy - Part 1: The One Percent Solution: Why 3.8 Billion Years of R&D Matters 2 The Unnatural Economy - Part 2: The Spiral Mandate: Why Nature Never Uses a Straight Line 3 The Unnatural Economy - Part 3: Dragging the Past: From Sharkskin to Supersonic Efficiency 4 The Unnatural Economy - Part 4: The Zero-Waste Blueprint: Fungi, Mussels, and Green Chemistry 5 The Unnatural Economy - Part 5: The Corporate Jungle: The High Cost of the "Not Invented Here" Syndrome ← Series Home Key Takeaways The Spiral Mandate: Nature never uses a straight line—everything from galaxies to blood vessels follows spiral geometry for optimal flow. Energy waste: Humans waste two-thirds of energy fighting friction and drag due to linear thinking. Turbulence as ally: Nature exploits turbulence; humans suppress it, leading to inefficiency. Biomimetic solutions: Spiral-based designs can reduce energy use by up to 90% in some applications. The Bishop’s Crook Revelation In the austere, sand-and-clay chapel of a Jesuit school, amidst the boredom of compulsory daily mass, the Archbishop arrived carrying his long stick with a spiral on top—the Bishop’s crook. This single, curved shape caught the eye, mirroring the contours of the seashells collected at the beach and the elegant swirls adorning the missal and the Bible. Later, observing seaweed in a violent ocean surge, it became apparent that the plants survived intact not by resisting the powerful onrush of water head-on, but by adapting their fronds to a particular swirling pathway—the path of least resistance. It was a profound realization: from the largest structures of the cosmos to the tiniest biological growth and fluid flow, a single, recurring geometry underlies existence. This spiral represented not chaos, but the profound, universal order of efficiency. ...

The Unnatural Economy: Reclaiming Nature's 3.8 Billion Year Design Manual 1 The Unnatural Economy - Part 1: The One Percent Solution: Why 3.8 Billion Years of R&D Matters 2 The Unnatural Economy - Part 2: The Spiral Mandate: Why Nature Never Uses a Straight Line 3 The Unnatural Economy - Part 3: Dragging the Past: From Sharkskin to Supersonic Efficiency 4 The Unnatural Economy - Part 4: The Zero-Waste Blueprint: Fungi, Mussels, and Green Chemistry 5 The Unnatural Economy - Part 5: The Corporate Jungle: The High Cost of the "Not Invented Here" Syndrome ← Series Home Key Takeaways Nature’s 3.8 billion years of R&D: Evolution has tested trillions of designs, with only 1% surviving—offering vetted solutions for human problems. Biomimicry as economic imperative: Learning from nature provides energy efficiency, waste elimination, and competitive advantage. From hippo sunscreen to sharkskin paint: Biological adaptations solve complex problems without toxins or side effects. The new gold rush: Biomimicry could generate $1 trillion in global GDP by 2025. Nature’s Superior Sunscreen Most young ladies sunning by the pool or beach probably aren’t thinking about a hippopotamus, let alone its perspiration. Yet, in a stark illustration of nature’s engineering superiority, the rust-colored secretion of the hippo provides a highly effective, four-in-one sunblock. While humans rely on salt water evaporation to cool the skin, the hippopotamus secretes a complex, nontoxic blend of chemicals that is simultaneously antiseptic, insect-repelling, antifungal, and an excellent sunscreen. Researchers found two pigments in the mucus blend that absorb light across the ultraviolet-visible range, with crystalline structures ensuring the material spreads effortlessly across the skin—a crucial feature for an animal that cannot apply lotion by hand. The market for human sunscreen is substantial, but many of the existing eighteen hundred products fail to live up to their claims and introduce toxins into the bloodstream, creating secondary cancer risks. This single biological adaptation illustrates a profound truth: nature routinely solves complex problems—like integrated sun protection and anti-infection—without generating the side effects that plague human industrial design. ...

Key Takeaways Racing Ban: Morgan three-wheelers were banned from Brooklands in 1922 for being too dominant and fast. Perfectly Imperfect: The car's mechanical directness and quirks are celebrated as integral to its charm. Evolutionary Design: Styling evolved organically through happy accidents, not formal design processes. Timeless Technology: Core features like sliding pillar suspension remain unchanged since the 1909 patent. Accidental Fame: Popularity surged from customer suggestions and a Harrods department store display. --- Introduction: More Than Just a Car When one thinks of classic British sports cars, images of sleek lines and refined, gentlemanly performance often come to mind. But nestled in the Malvern Hills is a glorious, stubborn fossil miraculously preserved in the amber of English motoring tradition: the Morgan. For over a century, it has remained an outlier, a living piece of automotive history that steadfastly refuses to follow convention. ...

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are widely presented as the definitive clean, green solution to our transportation problems. The mainstream perception is that switching from gasoline to electric is the most critical step we can take toward a sustainable future. However, a deeper look reveals a picture that is far more complex and filled with surprising, counter-intuitive realities. The story of the EV is not just about a silent, zero-emission drive; it’s a global narrative of mining, manufacturing, energy grids, and economics. This article uncovers five of the most impactful truths about the EV transition, based on a deep dive into lifecycle analysis and economic data. ...

In 1934, Chrysler launched the Airflow—a car so aerodynamically advanced it should have revolutionized the industry. Smooth, integrated, scientifically designed to slice through air. It was a commercial disaster. The public didn’t see innovation. They saw a “bizarre and unwelcome stranger.” The Airflow was, as historians note, “simply too innovative” for its time. 1934 Year the 'car of the future' arrived—and failed Automotive design history This single failure reveals the fundamental truth about car design: it’s not about what’s technically superior. It’s about what society is ready to accept. ...

500 Five decision-making insights from Systems Engineering: Value-Focused Thinking, Process + Creativity, Embracing Failure, Useful Models, and Right Problem Definition. Introduction: Unlocking Wisdom from Unexpected Sources We live in a world of overwhelming complexity. Making a good decision, whether for our business, our career, or our personal lives, feels harder than ever. We’re flooded with data, faced with endless options, and haunted by the fear of choosing incorrectly. In the search for clarity, we often turn to business books or productivity blogs. We rarely look inside a 500-page academic textbook on Systems Engineering. ...

1,885 Metal fatigue caused 1,885 serious accidents between 1927-1981, claiming 2,240 lives – with 100+ incidents still occurring annually. From the Archives of Aviation Safety It’s one of the great miracles of modern life: stepping onto a jet, soaring above the clouds, and landing safely hundreds or thousands of miles away. We trust the steel and aluminum that hold us aloft. But there’s a sneaky, relentless enemy lurking inside every aircraft part: metal fatigue. ...