Cats' Paws and Catapults: Mechanical Worlds of Nature and People [Paperback]

Steven Vogel (Author), Kathryn K. Davis (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393319903 | ISBN-13: 978-0393319903 | Publication Date: January 2000

"Full of ideas and well-explained principles that will bring new understanding of everyday things to both scientists and non-scientists alike."—R. McNeill Alexander, Nature

Nature and humans build their devices with the same earthly materials and use them in the same air and water, pulled by the same gravity. Why, then, do their designs diverge so sharply? Humans, for instance, love right angles, while nature's angles are rarely right and usually rounded. Our technology goes around on wheels—and on rotating pulleys, gears, shafts, and cams—yet in nature only the tiny propellers of bacteria spin as true wheels. Our hinges turn because hard parts slide around each other, whereas nature's hinges (a rabbit's ear, for example) more often swing by bending flexible materials. In this marvelously surprising, witty book, Steven Vogel compares these two mechanical worlds, introduces the reader to his field of biomechanics, and explains how the nexus of physical law, size, and convenience of construction determine the designs of both people and nature. "This elegant comparison of human and biological technology will forever change the way you look at each."—Michael LaBarbera, American Scientist Illustrated

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Life is what biology's all about. Technology is something else altogether. Or so I believed before I got into a kind of biology that's about technology as well as life," begins biomechanics expert Steven Vogel in the preface to Cats' Paws and Catapults. Vogel examines the "mechanical worlds of nature and people" in such chapters as "The Stiff and the Soft" and "The Matter of Magnitude." Lots of line-drawing illustrations help readers understand the examples used to answer questions of animal and machine efficiency, design and repair. Vogel clearly loves the puzzles of biology--why, for instance, do daffodil stems bend at only one precise spot? This book is filled with intriguing answers to such hidden questions, and curious readers will eagerly dive into Vogel's investigations of whether nature or human design is superior and why the two technologies have diverged so much. --Therese Littleton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Nature often comes up with simpler solutions to engineering problems than do human engineers. Does that mean that nature's technology is superior? Arguing that nature can be improved upon, Vogel's comparison of biological and human-made technologies shows how and why.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (January 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393319903
• ISBN-13: 978-0393319903
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #455,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A captivating look at the natural and the synthetic, March 2, 2000

By 

Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cats' Paws and Catapults: Mechanical Worlds of Nature and People (Paperback)

What a pleasurable and stimulating book! Vogel is one of those rare authors who can communicate the essence of a complex technical field without either dumbing it down or making it so complex as to be unapproachable to the lay reader. "Cat's Paws and Catapults" is just full of elegant, clear text and beautiful pen-and-ink illustrations that make the difficult clear.

Vogel begins by comparing nature's solutions to problems of structure, propulsion and so forth with the creations of man, illustrating the differences and the similarities in how the two evolve. He differs with those philosophers who have argued that within nature might be found the ideal solutions to the problems of engineering and design, and gives convincing examples to support his case. He works though issues in structure, transport, proplsion and so on showing the differnt ways in which nature and man arrive at solutions, and argues why each may or may not be optimal.

One chapter is devoted to the question of scale, and how it influences design. For example, the houses built by humans are, despite all their nails and other fasteners, mainly held together by gravity. Things like nails and mortar serve mainly to keep bits from sliding off each other. That's not possible when building something the size of a bacterium; at that scale, gravity is essentially negligible.

Scale is similarly important in building a flying machine. Aircraft and insects fly in very different environments. Airplanes must fly fast to overcome gravity, whereas insects fly slowly, in an environment where drag is the main force to be overcome.

And that's just one small section. There are chapters on surfaces and angles, on soft versus hard, on pulling versus pushing, on the problem of making copies and many other topics as well.

As I read "Cat's Paws" I found myself making a tremendous number of penciled notes in the margin, arguing with some points and agreeing with others. It's not that there was that much I disagreed with, but rather that the book engaged me to the point that I felt I was in a dialogue with the author. It's that good.

If you're the kind of person who can't resist taking something apart to see what makes it work, buy this book. If you're fascinated by the workings of the natural world, buy this book. If you're just looking for a really good example of non-fiction writing in the best traditions of John McPhee, Tracy Kidder or Jeremy Bernstein, buy this book. You will not be disappointed.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Arguments against the idea that Mother (nature) knows best, January 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cats' Paws and Catapults: Mechanical Worlds of Nature and People (Hardcover)

Vogel's book attempts to refute the assertion that many the "techie" or the laymen make regarding the world's greatest innovations. Most will instantly assume that Mother Nature is the queen of all things brilliant when it comes to design, however this book has a different angle. Rather than touting Mother's praises, Vogel takes an analytic look at devices both natural and man-made and compares them. He discusses the truly divergent processes by which nature evolves and human engineering is refined, and points out a few cases where convergent solutions have emerged. A great book for any engineer who's also a fan of late night Discovery Channel.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars mechanical engineering by us and by nature, May 24, 2007

By 

Charles Bradley (Acton , MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cats' Paws and Catapults: Mechanical Worlds of Nature and People (Paperback)

This is a great book. Not great in the sense of changing the world as Newton, Darwin, and Freud did,
but great in the sense of well done. It is informative and entertaining at the same time.

Most of the book is a "compare and contrast" man made things and things in nature. A small part
is devoted to debunking the belief that whatever nature does is the best way to do it. Vogel
explains why airplanes do not have flapping wings. The laws of physics apply in both worlds.
Bones and I beams break under sufficient loads. The chapter titled "The Matter of Magnitude" is
important throughout the book. Things do not scale up. An elephant's legs are not as slender
as a deer's. Almost all of a small animal's mass is close to the surface, so it is easy to
disapate heat from a hard working muscle. A large animal would cook itself without additional
means of cooling.

There are chapters about shapes, surfaces, angles, rigidity, tension and compression, pulling
versus pushing, engines, transmissions, pumps, jets, manufacturing, and copying.

You do not have to be a mechanical engineer or have a great interest in biology to enjoy this book.
I think most readers with a variety of interests will enjoy it and learn a lot from it.
Even language fans will enjoy it. There is a pleasant phrase on almost every page, an expression
that will make you think "I wish I had said that."