Structural form as an analogical source for structures of nature: two examples

Anaximander’s 6th century BC model of the cosmos was arguably influenced by analogies drawn from the monumental stone temple architecture of his day, with specific aspects of the model being related to the overall temple or its structural elements, or even its construction processes. Similarly, the scientists who discovered a new allotrope of carbon in 1985 were inspired by the geodesic domes of Buckminster Fuller to arrive at a structural configuration for the molecule. This shows that designed structural artifacts can play a role in scientific model formation by serving as sources of analogy for the structures of nature.