1. Design Genetics & Memetics
eration, as the head of the design differs? ... Currently we have none to measure them with, except some vague, unreliable and
fig 1. The evolution of meme, Sushi.
In design theory, the biological analogies have been pervasive since the beginnings of the science of biology in the early
fig 2. Mutation of a video uploaded to YouTube 1000 times. https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=icruGcSsPp0
nineteenth century [Steadman, 2008:xv]. According to Alison Brooks1, evolution of weaponry caused the evolution of our shoulder, ‘our stone tools evolved and so did our wrist to make them better,’ and that ‘we have come to the point where we cannot
fig 3. The Evolution of Useful Things. Henry Petroski, 1992. http://www.triz-journal.com/archives/1999/09/b/
survive without culture.’ When considered as a form of cultural heritage, design can be considered as a part of memetics (fig 1). Recipes for food are the perfect examples of design as meme. We copy them, transform them, and then combine with other ‘wild’ recipes. fig 2 shows an example of its close relationship. While in this YouTube case the ‘mutation’ is actually a preprogrammed data-compression algorithm YouTube uses, it clearly shows a simple way of our so-called ‘meme’ can be transformed and be evolved. fig 3 is an example of the progress of our daily eating , from twin
fig 4. Convergent evolution of middle stone age point styles 100k-60k years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj7mWE1R5xw
knives via two-tined forks, three-tined, to our four-tined forks. Defining it a process of evolution, however, requires genome and its container. Are designed products replicators? If so, what would be the gene equivalent? With a couple of coinage, analogical correspondence for biology and design can be comprehended
fig 5. Bower of a Bowerbird, an example of non-human ‘artificial’ creation/design
as follows: Table 1 Analogical correspondence table for biology and design.
fig 6. [ from left to right] Ur Leica by Oscar Barnack, 1913. World’s first digital camera by Kodak, 1975. 2012 Sony X100 digital camera is roughly the decendant of the two.
fig 7. [ from left to right] red king crab is genetically a cousin of hermit crab, although its morphology resembles to snow crab much more.
fig 8. Marsupials resemble those of eutherian mammals, although they are far from them in the genetic chromosome map
fig 9. Metacarpal bone from vulture’s wing, stiffened after the manner of a Warren’s truss[right]. An example of truss generated by Finite Element Analysis structure optimization algorithm[left].
Biology Gene Genome DNA Chromosome Reproduction Gender Asexual reproduction Unicellular organism ‘Replicator’ Conventional breeding method Genetically modified organisms Error while copying ‘Artificial’ Mutation Environment Niche Red Queen’s Hypothesis Geological isolation Pray Morphologic classification Genetic distance LUCA Tree of Life
Design Designe? Designeme? (just as phoneme) Design(noun) 3D Data, as just a part of DNA of design Same as DNA. Binary data? in specific cases. Design (verb)? ?? Recipe? Conventional mass-production Mass-produced products Design(n)+binary data? + manufacturing factory Vernacular design(verb)? Innovation; design(v) Data glitch, which is sometimes useful. See fig 2. Brain storming, ‘genius’ startup, incubation, scientific breakthrough? Economic systems? Market share, food=consumer segregation Jack Welch’s strategy? Cultural segragation, ‘Galapagos cellphone’ Raw Materials? Money? Consumer? Product genre I hope this is measurable... Not yet known Product genealogy
2. Convergent Evolution in Design Convergent evolution in biology means species from different lineages acquire similar traits(fig 7, fig 8). It is because their
fig 10. Richard Dawkins’ Arthromorphs showing a simple example of interactive genetic algorithm(iGA). The parent you chose (middle) propagates eight similar, but different children around it.
adopted survival strategies are similar, or simply because they live in the similar environment with similar prays and/or predators. Same thing happens with product design, as you can see in fig 4,
fig 11. “It seems incredible that at one time the Bull Terrier was a handsome, athletic dog. Somewhere along its journey to a mutated skull and thick abdomen the bull terrier also picked up a number of other maladies like supernumerary teeth and compulsive tail-chasing.”(http://dogbehaviorscience.wordpress. com/2012/09/29/100-years-of-breed-improvement/: 2014-3-4)
and fig 15 shows these in recent years. Although morphological traits seem to distinguish designed
3. Copy, Transform, Combine, and, Failure When combined, as fig 6 shows, designed product ‘evolves’. What is different from genetically modified organisms is that you do not know whether it is a ‘wanted’ gene as you can now do with transgenetic/cisgenetic breeding as fig 16 shows. fig 9 shows how evolution sides with utilitarian ratiolism, along with Finite Element Analysis’ optimization algorithm keeping up with it. Richard Dawkins explained how the process and its ‘product’ look as though designed, but in reality is not, in 1991 ‘Growing Up in the Universe’ TV programme3 using a simple Genetic Algorithm programme as shown in fig 10. From traditional breeding of crops to
fig 13. Recipe of pure-bred dogs(part). “Analyzing the DNA of 85 dog breeds, scientists found that genetic similarities clustered them into four broad categories. The groupings reveal how breeders have recombined ancestral stock to create new breeds; a few still carry many wolflike genes.” http://ngm.nationalgeographic. com/2012/02/build-a-dog/dog-families-graphic?rptregcta=reg_free_np&rptregcampaign=20131016_rw_membership_r1p_intl_ot_w#close-modal
today’s cutting-edge genetic engineering, we have been altering other species for thousands of years. We distinguish artificial materials/artifacts from natural objects by the existence of our intention in them. fig 11 and fig 12 show our failure in manipulating fig 14. World Map of Y-Chromosome Haplogroups. It seems easier to track the origin of traits if you have DNA as solid evidence and its carrier...which designed products currently lack.
genes. Although it seems that there is no corresponding concept for design as gender for biology, they surely do seem to reproduce. The notion of recipe seem to fit best to explain this. Unlike biological species, any combination of designeme works: it just does not work. See the Google Graveyard4.
4. Designed Products as Superorganism? Designed products cannot be classified as clear as mammals.
fig 15. [Left] Space shuttle on the left, Buran on the right. [Right] Tu-144 on the front, Concorde on the back. In the last days of the Soviet Union, they seem to have been desperate to cope with the western powers. Both designs are rumored that the KGB spies have stolen from them. Not surprisingly, the USSR, which had fallen behind the western powers in technology at that era, created slightly bigger versions of space shuttle and Concorde, as it has been said that the late starters tend to do in order to keep up with the forerunners. http://www.buran.fr/bourane-buran/img/STS-Buran-grand.jpg http://eu.airliners.net/aviation-photos/ middle/4/0/9/1116904.jpg Conventional breeding Current cultivar
Back cross
Is iPad Mini a subspecies of iPad 2? Is iPad Air a evolved version
sidered as just boundaries of the biomechanism of the products.
Cisgenesis Wild relative
Unrelated organism Beneficial gene
Beneficial gene
Beneficial gene
Unwanted genes
Unwanted genes
Unwanted genes
Current cultivar
Transfer into plasmid in Agrobacterium
F1 Generation
Current cultivar
Transfer into plasmid in Agrobacterium
Genes required for transfer
Genes required for transfer
F2 Generation
of iPad 2, even though the basic architecture is the same? Designed products, such as “Sony X100” and “Ur Leica” can be con-
Transgenesis
Wild relative
Many backcrosses
New cultivar
New cultivar
New cultivar
fig 16. Diagram of genetic changes achieved by conventional breeding, transgenetic, and cisgenetic breeding.
Each “organs” inside the boundary, such as a CCD sensor, film, or Bionz chip generating images from the signals from the CCD sensor, have their own designs and thus corresponding concepts, strategies, marketing researches, drawings, and so on. They are technically separable from the recipe of the designed product as ‘parent’ directory. In that perspective, the relationship between a designed product and contained parts are more like a colony and its superorganism. Even human body could be considered as a super-
fig 17. USSR rocketery genealogy diagram. http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic. php?t=123144
organism5 of itself and its microbiome. If ‘Tools as organs or as extensions of the physical body’ [Steadman, 2008:119] take part of this colony, designed products can also be human itself, as the definition and the boundary has now been so fuzzy.
products in their genres such as smartphone, phablet and tablet, their true genetic distance might be very different as with marsupials examples. How close genetic distance is from iOS to Free
fig 12. “The German Shepherd Dog is also a breed that is routinely mentioned when people talk about ruined breeds; maybe because they used to be awesome. In Dogs of All Nations, the GSD is described as a medium-sized dog (25 kg /55 lb), this is a far cry from the angulated, barrel-chested, sloping back, ataxic, 85-pounders (38 kg ) we are used to seeing in the conformation ring. There was a time when the GSD could clear a 2.5 meter (8.5 ft) wall, that time is long gone.”(http://dogbehaviorscience.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/100-years-of-breed-improvement/: 2014-3-4)
subjective cluster analysis based on family-resemblance.
BSD compared to that to Android? How close is 2nd generation 2
Jaguar XKR to Aston Martin DB9 compared to that to 1st gen1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RXva1wLsVtE#t=174 2 Both are designed by Ian Callum, a GSA graduate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Callum
5. Reference Steadman, Philip. The Evolution of Designs. Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xGyh1Qsw-Ak#t=1950 4 http://www.wordstream.com/articles/google-failures-google-flops 5 http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/03/keyboard-microbiome/ “If humans are thought of as a composite of microbial and human cells, the human genetic landscape as an aggregate of the genes in the human genome and the microbiome, and human metabolic features as a blend of human and microbial traits, then the picture that emerges is one of a human ‘supra-organism’,” argued a 2007 Nature paper leadauthored by Peter Turnbaugh, a Harvard microbiologist.
fig 18. Evolution of the F1 Car, along with evolution of their engine and steering wheel(Not included in this poster). http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f0QGNfAb2IM/T_ Ce50L8AhI/AAAAAAAABT4/3rIwTAqEAcI/s1600/F1_Evolution_All_cars_ small.jpg