Darlene McCoy
Karen Barad
FMST 80K
25 May 2011
Week 8 Readings
I found the lecture on Biomimicry yesterday incredibly interesting. For some reason, I guess I had just never thought to look to nature for technological inspiration. I found the animals, specimens, creatures, or whatever they shall be called to be so fascinating! It was crazy to note that the pattern a shark’s scales were in helped it keep clean. The brittle star is quite the odd little creature as well, and it was entertaining to be able to just chat about it, and how a scientist like Karen would describe it. I can’t recall her name for the life of me – but the woman who headed the entire biomimicry project seemed incredible to me. I understand Karen’s concern for her work, since ethics really are a big deal and all, but I was just so amazed at what she had already done in her life and how apparent it was that she did actually care about science and nature.
The article on nanotechnology more or less really made me think how much science influences daily life. Honestly, it’s just sort of hard to comprehend sometimes. The fact that there is nanotechnology in sunscreen seems kind of silly to me when I think about it, because sunscreen seems to be something so simple and mundane. But – I think because most people in the world are of the same mindset about sunscreen – it is important to know how it’s formed, and for who, and what it takes to form it. If something were to be mass distributed to the public, I’m sure the public would like to know what they’re applying on their skin.
The Nature article also shed some light on the idea that humans sometimes play around with things they don’t quite fully comprehend the workings of yet, and because of that, there may be some serious consequences. I feel like because humans don’t understand the natural science behind such phenomenal creatures like the brittle star, they might be diving into unknown worlds. The results could be good or bad, and I think what Karen might have been trying to say is that scientists must take responsibility all outcomes, and not attempt to hide a more negative consequence because it makes their life easier.
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