1) Nature has a huge role in how we design our products. For example, one rule of nature that always holds true for humans at least is that they are resistant to change. Whenever someone introduces a new technology to our lives, we are always hesitant to accept it. Whether this is a new food we’ve never had or a new way of staying in touch with each other. Understanding this is important because the people we are looking to help will more than likely originally be hesitant to try our product, or could reject it entirely. Given this situation, our team is investing its time into other potential solutions that address our problems. This way, if we arrive in SL, and the cake is rejected, we can invest our time in another project we have already started on, instead of starting back from scratch. Another example of nature influencing our project is by our team approaching this issue as a whole food approach. While yes, you can buy bulk supplements and just sprinkle them on your food, the best way that our bodies and all animals absorb nutrients is through food itself. The complex structures that the nutrients come in are better absorbed by the body, and for that reason, we will try to use as much whole food as we can, and only supplement small amounts. The last way we will model our product after nature is to follow the rule in which things flow through the path of least resistant, and that is how we are going to implement our project. We don’t want our product to feel out of place or foreign. In order to integrate the product into Sierra Leone’s culture, we want it to be similar to it, and thus follow the path of least resistant. Going against their ideas and values would be counterproductive. Following the example, they have set with what the like and disklike will ensure our product is utilized by the people there.
2) One of life’s principles is defined by entropy and states that the universe is always moving towards more disorder. I use that idea in my life every day because what can go wrong, will. I try to be prepared for any and all situations that might arise, and this was even ingrained in me as a Boy Scout when I was younger. Our slogan is to “Be Prepared”, and I live by that every day. This includes always having extra phone chargers in my backpack and always having a back-up plan for presentations in case something goes unexpectedly. This applied to my research as well because as an engineer, one must encompass all aspects in order to assure that your project doesn’t cause more problems than it solves and ensure that it works the best possible way.
3) When it comes to the cradle to cradle method, we plan on using the entire concept throughout or project, This is really important to us, as we understand that being in a developing country, it is incredibly important to not create problems when addressing our own. Even in my youth as a Boy Scout, we were told to always leave no trace. That meant that we had to leave the campsite better than we found it when we used it. Incorporating that into this project is incredibly important, and follows the idea of the cradle to cradle method. One way we plan to implement this is to ensure that our packaging if we have one, will be biodegradable or at least recyclable to ensure that our project doesn’t create a waste issue, as we address malnutrition.
4) One thing my friend Chase introduced to be which was a foreign concept for a long time was Jewdism. I grew up Roman Catholic and had really never been exposed to other religions. I was in the 6th grade at the time and he invited me to his Barmitzah and from there I attended his synagogue and learned about Jewdism. It was really great to learn about other religions from my close friend and we still look back to laugh it at to this day. Another thing a friend taught me for the first time was the concept of politics. I really never had watched the news as my parents had up until 5th grade. My friend John told me to watch a show about politics, the name slips my mind, but I learned about democrats and republicans and really about government in general. Still, to this day politics is really interesting to me and I like to stay up to date with the news. One last example of a friend exposing me to something alien was when my friend Ronak, senior year of high school, told me to try out for the tennis team. I had never played before in my life, but I figured I should give it a shot. I feel in love with the sport right away and would practice 4 hours a day. I eventually made the varsity team and I still play on and off to this day. I now also watch it on TV and love to follow the sport.