this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2022
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Naturally, evolution converges to the best corresponding adaptability of the species. this even leads to such a perfect optimization of some very old species, that they have practically not evolved any more for millions of years.
As the evolutionary adaptations are perfected, the evolutionary pressure of the environment decreases, converging to zero. Certainly in younger species, like us, practically the most recent, there is still room to continue evolving, but this is not the case in species that have existed for tens of millions of years, at most varying in size, as in insects. , today much smaller than before due to a lower amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, but its biomechanics remains the same as it was 200 million years ago.
These solutions offered by nature in any case are superior to what we can reproduce artificially in many cases, it shows in the solutions offered by the bionic industry, although having good results, they are rarely as efficient as their original model of nature. As is the case of photo synthesis, where our artificial imitations are still quite deficient, or micro robotics, which has results that are far from reaching the capabilities of a simple cockroach. Some species may not yet have optimized their evolutionary adaptation, but it would be the holy grail of science to get to at least this degree.
Perhaps a better way to express the point I was trying to make is to say that if you want to talk about most efficient then you have to define the requirements for what that means. Nature's "most efficient" may not be man's most efficient. That video was the "most" egregious misuse of defining efficiency since it ignored most (all but location) information about the requirements for defining interconnections between locations! Ignorance at its best.
It is not this, it is clear that a solution offered by nature is perfect for certain environments and not necessarily for others. With the example of winglets on aircraft wings to reduce or cancel turbulence, the model offered by the wings of some birds served, which have this perfect solution It is also used in the blades of some turbines, increasing their efficiency considerably.
That this solution of nature does not serve to walk better or to have unrelated abilities is clear, for this there are other solutions. These are solutions that nature offers for certain functions, these are used in bionics, for new materials, functions and devices. Like the well-known Lotus effect that has been used for a long time on all types of surfaces, to repel water and dirt, an effect observed in the Lotus leaves, which is perfect for this function. Adhesive tapes and surfaces, inspired by the feet of the Gecko, capable of climbing vertically on glass and any other surface, also used in building cleaning robots that can climb a wall without problems.
Solutions that nature offers to certain problems, which in their practical totality are perfect.