Audiobook Review - Biomimetics

Biomimetics: How Lessons From Nature Can Transform Technology by Brian Clegg, Narrated by Mark Peachey

Biomimetics is a brand-new book by UK science writer and lecturer / speaker Brian Clegg. It’s a short tour (176 pages for the paperback) through the field of biomimetics - human technology that mimics biological or biomechanical processes.

Probably the most familiar example of biomimetics to most people, and the one that Clegg covers first, is Velcro. The idea behind Velcro closures comes directly from nature. The inventor was walking with his dog through a field one day in the 1940s when burrs stuck to them - stuck to the fabric of the man’s clothes and the fur on the dog. Examining the burr under a microscope the inventor saw that it was covered with tiny hooks which made it ideal for sticking to things, and immediately saw the potential for a fastener. It took a while to perfect the product but in 1959 Velcro was introduced to the market.

Clegg goes through a number of other examples of biomimicry as the book progresses, many of them prototypes or concepts that never made it as commercial products. While it’s fascinating to read about these examples, the paucity of marketable technology based on biomimetics is likely the reason the book is so short, and somewhat of a let-down.

Clegg does “fess up” that there isn’t a lot to talk about in the final chapter, but he holds out hope for additional biomimetic breakthroughs. I’m less optimistic myself, even if his discussion of the possibility of self-healing concrete does intrigue the civil engineering graduate in me.

I did find the chapter on Artificial Intelligence interesting, primarily because Clegg makes the case that AI is NOT biomimetic.

Pointing back to the example of Velcro Clegg says that biomimetics means that a human technology is based on a biological process, even if we humans use it for something other than what the process achieves in nature. Burrs stick to clothing as a means of spreading their seeds across a wider area than would otherwise be possible. Velcro uses the same mechanism as burrs (the tiny hooks) for other uses (fastening clothing together, making astronauts tools stick to their space gloves so they don’t fly off into space, etc.)

Artificial Intelligence on the other hand is almost exactly the opposite. Clegg argues that while AI attempts to mimic human intelligence, the underlying technologies used to do so bear no resemblance to the biological processes humans actually use. So the result is mimicry of intelligence on the surface, but not biomimetics on the inside.

Clegg’s writing style is clear and straightforward - just what you want in a popular science writer. And Mark Peachey’s narration was, as they say in Britain, “spot on”. But there wasn’t a lot of material to work with for this book and so it’s a mixed review from me.

RATING: Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐

NOTE ON AVAILABILITY: This is another audiobook I’ve read through Scribd, but the availability of the book in other places seems to be somewhat hit or miss right now. So, rather than post my usual links to booksellers, I’ll just tell you what I’ve found and let you seek it out for yourself if you’d like to read it.

The audiobook just came out last week, but it doesn’t appear to be available from Amazon’s Audible until October 5th. It is available now on Scribd and Audiobooks.com. But it doesn’t seem to be available through Libby yet.

Interestingly the ebook is available now on Kindle (and Kobo.)

The paperback version doesn’t arrive at all until October 3rd.