Now, to bring this back to the round/square wheels thing - yes, as Stirling posted in the comments, the round wheels are optimal and thus the most likely solution. However, I'm going to have to disagree with the idea of there being only one optimum solution while agreeing with it (bear with that contradiction in terms for a moment.)
It all depends on what the goals are. To repeat the quote: "All who make wheels, make them round." Making a round wheel is reliant, to a degree, upon the intention to make a wheel. If the intention is different - say, locomotion instead - the results begin to vary. I realize this seems self-evident. Where importance comes in is in realizing when we're trying to make wheels and when we're just attempting to move from point A to point Z.
Part trois coming.
3 comments:
Really, the difference in goals is what makes species diverse. Sure, they're all going for survival, but there are so many different routes- specializations in diet or habitat make some species more likely to survive than if they were all generalists.
When it comes to wheels, you can specialize as well. Maybe thick treads, maybe no treads, maybe sloped edges.. It's not just the intention to make a wheel, but where/how the wheel is intended to go. Even beyond the question of getting from point A to Z, there's the question of what lies in between.
I think alot of the reason that people who make wheels make them round is that wheels are, by definition, round. Everything in our world has boundaries and defining facets that, if a particular item does not fall within, it cannot claim the name of the category. And, whether there was once the possibility for "wheels" to take on another shape or not, they are now round.
However, just because wheels are round, does not mean that they are the only item that can fill their mechalogical (portmanteau of mechanical and ecological...it works) niche. For example, look at some of the ways Aztec and Mayan peoples moved large blocks of stone. Or take the canal and gondola system of Venice. Those were the most practical ways for thsoe cultures, at that time, to move things around. Just because we are surrounded by wheels, doesn't mean that other methods don't exist. So it is with the natural world - to borrow from Stirling's example, our being surrounded by deer does not preclude the existence of the kangaroo.
Unrelated, but still may be of interest to you: nanowrimo.org You should check it out. If you happen to do it, you should friend me there. Even if you don't want to do it, I think you'll get a kick out of some of the forums - particularly the "You know you're writing fantasy when" thread. <3
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