090 Mimicry

Copying properties from familiar things in order to realize benefits of those properties.

• In design, mimicry refers to copying pre-existing solutions to problems. There are three kinds of mimicry: surface, behavioral, and functional.

• Surface Mimicry: copying the way things look (e.g., knock-offs of expensive brands or products).

• Behavioral Mimicry: copying the way things act (e.g., robots simulating human facial expressions).

• Functional Mimicry: copying the way things work (e.g., mimicking the keypad of an adding machine in the design of a touch-tone telephone).

• Mimicry is perhaps the oldest and most efficient method for achieving advances in design. Consider mimicry as one approach in solving problems, considering the surface, behavioral, and functional properties of both natural and man-made things.

See Also Anthropomorphism • Baby-Face Bias Savanna Preference • Supernormal Stimulus

Scuba suits that mimic the black and white banding of the Indo-Pacific sea snake show promise as a shark deterrent.