Fascination Bionic [antikvár]

reface Just as the genome is the code to human biological viability, proper management is the key to human social viability and survival, and at the same time, to the functionality of our social institutions. In this context, we are in dire need of new role models. Stagnation and sterility have reached unacceptable levels in many aspects of society. Our modern education system hardly provides any vital impulses. The truly exciting results for solving complex problems and for the functionality of complex systems wiU undoubtedly come from the biological sciences, especially brain research and evolution theory. One of the most interesting, promising, and fascinating developments in this regard is bionics, the combination of biology and technology. The expansion of the bionic principle leads to the utilization of biological insights for organizational design and generally for the architecture and functionality of all social institutions. There are several reasons why it has taken scientists and engineers, physicians, architects and managers so long to pay attention to the models of biological systems that have proven their worth over millions of years. On one hand, we have increasingly adopted a derogatory and arrogant attitude toward the supposed "simplicity" of Nature during the course of industrialization. It was taboo for a long time, and in part continues to be, to take evolutionary strategies seriously as a source of inspiration and innovation for our artificial systems. The attitude that animals and plants are primitive and far inferior to human intellectuality continues to prevail. Only the growing number of failures in recent times, in the fields of technology, business, or medicine, have led us to consider the question how Nature has not only managed to secure its existence over so many millions of years, but has also consistently developed into higher life forms. This book focuses on ways to study this highly complex system and its incredible success story and to emulate it intelligently. Innovative spirit and imagination, creativity and the urge to know more, to have better skills, and to ultimately have more have always been the domain of young people. We all can do our part to the development of these characteristics with this publication. After all, when our urge to do better than others withers away, imagination and creativity are the victims, and progress and growth will fail. Fredmund Malik Editor