Shouldn't Nature Get The Award?

Each year, the James Dyson Award celebrates the most creative inventions from around the world. This year's UK winner is a bizarre pinecone-shaped device which has been hailed as 'wonderful'. The oddly-shaped block has no moving parts, almost no metal, and is mainly made of charcoal and wax.

And did this 'invention' spring fully formed from the mind of the creator?  

While it might be hard to tell based on appearances, the Pyri device is designed to help prevent forest fires by providing an early warning system to local communities. Pyri's design was inspired by 'pyriscencent' pine trees which only drop their seeds when wildfires melt their resinous outer casings. Just like those pinecones, the device's outer casing is made of a wax which melts as the heat of a fire approaches 80°C (176°F). As the outer shell melts away it releases a saltwater solution whose electrolytes produce a small electrical current which powers a radio transmitter.That radio signal is strong enough to be detected by towers which can triangulate Pyri's signal over 50km (31 miles).That data can then be sent to local communities and firefighting services to provide an early warning against wildfires.

So that's a 'No'. All they've done is add the WIFI - so shouldn't mother nature get the award? 

The young inventors of Pyri are Richard Alexandre, Karina Gunadi, Blake Goodwyn and Tanghao Yu, who met while studying at Imperial College and the Royal College of Art in London.

They will be dubbed 'inventors' when really they are plagiarists. 

Why Is Science Bowing To Superstition?

'We know very little, practically nothing' about the creatures, Hannah Hendriks, marine technical adviser for the Department of Conservation, said. 'This is going to lead to some amazing science and world-first information.'

If the cetacean is confirmed to be the elusive spade-toothed whale, it would be the first specimen found in a state that would permit scientists to dissect it, allowing them to map the relationship of the whale to the few others of the species found, learn what it eats and perhaps lead to clues about where they live.

Some good news on the science front, at la...

Oh. Wait.  

This time, the beached whale was quickly transported to cold storage and researchers will work with local Maori iwi (tribes) to plan how it will be examined, the conservation agency said. New Zealand's Indigenous people consider whales a taonga - a sacred treasure - of cultural significance.

/facepalm 

In April, Pacific Indigenous leaders signed a treaty recognizing whales as 'legal persons,' although such a declaration is not reflected in the laws of participating nations.

Then why on earth is anyone consulting them on anything? What can they usefully add to this debate?  

Nothing is currently known about the whales' habitat.

And if science bows to superstition, we never will...