--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What if, every time I started to invent…" description: "\"What if, every time I started to invent something, I asked, 'How would nature solve this?'\" — Janine Benyus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/janine-benyus-15049_ifs_what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-s_2268600.png" --- # What if, every time I started to invent something, I… ![“What if, every time I started to invent something, I asked, 'How would nature solve this?'” quote by Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/janine-benyus-15049_ifs_what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-s_2268600.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/janine-benyus-15049_ifs_what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-s_2268600.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/janine-benyus-15049_ifs_what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-s_2268600.png) > “What if, every time I started to invent something, I asked, 'How would nature solve this?'” [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When inventing, consider nature’s solutions as models for efficient, sustainable designs. **In simple terms:** Look to nature for design ideas. Key Takeaway Design with nature’s wisdom. Themes innovation environment sustainability Mood thoughtful optimistic Type scientific inspirational When to use this quote - product design - architecture - engineering challenges - education curricula Key Concepts biomimicry systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can natural principles improve your project? - What natural process solves a similar problem? A Different Perspective Nature’s constraints may limit certain technologies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asked Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asked-nature-5248232/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Invent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invent/) [Invent Asked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invent-asked-5248230/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Solve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-solve-3616854/) [Solve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solve/) [Started Invent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-invent-5248231/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [What if](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-if/) ## Related quotes > [Overpopulation in the United States will become THE single greatest issue facing Americans in the 21st century. We either solve it proactively or nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frosty-wooldridge/overpopulation-in-the-united-states-will-become-the-single-greatest/) [Frosty Wooldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frosty-wooldridge/) > [Remove what is unfitting in your life, keep the rest and invent something new for that which you remove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/remove-what-is-unfitting-in-your-life-keep-the-rest-and-invent/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You can only really invent something if you connect yourself to the real world - whatever that means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lindbergh/you-can-only-really-invent-something-if-you-connect-yourself-to-the/) [Peter Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lindbergh/) > [The answer, The answer, my friend, is not yours to invent or create. It will be decided for you. It is outside you. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-answer-the-answer-my-friend-is-not-yours-to-invent-or-create-it/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [What you dont see with your eyes, dont invent with your mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-you-dont-see-with-your-eyes-dont-invent-with-your-mouth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It gives me confidence to know that what I'm writing has a veracity of its own without me having to invent it. When I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/it-gives-me-confidence-to-know-that-what-i-m-writing-has-a-veracity/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [I don't think we have very good records about what they were thinking except, as I pointed out earlier today, that they did invent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/i-don-t-think-we-have-very-good-records-about-what-they-were-thinking/) [David R. Brower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-r-brower/) > [“China it! Why invent the wheel when it has already been invented!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/china-it-why-invent-the-wheel-when-it-has-already-been-invented/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [You will never win fame and fortune unless you invent big ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/you-will-never-win-fame-and-fortune-unless-you-invent-big-ideas/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [The function of the artist is to invent, not to chronicle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-function-of-the-artist-is-to-invent-not-to-chronicle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > ['The New Yorker' didn't invent the magazine cartoon, but it did really establish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mankoff/the-new-yorker-didn-t-invent-the-magazine-cartoon-but-it-did-really/) [Robert Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mankoff/) > [You can't invent something you have no epistemological access to. In a way, it's all recombination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/you-can-t-invent-something-you-have-no-epistemological-access-to-in-a/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Being a pioneer can be damn lonely, too early, no money, tough, endless, stupid,” Samwer said. “And that healed us. Since then, we basically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sennett/being-a-pioneer-can-be-damn-lonely-too-early-no-money-tough-endless/) [Frank Sennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sennett/) > [When you have a large amount of the workforce being laid off, some of them have no other choice but to go out there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/when-you-have-a-large-amount-of-the-workforce-being-laid-off-some-of/) [Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/) > [My wish for humanity is to invent a way to communicate between us and whatever comes next. And in the end that we the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/my-wish-for-humanity-is-to-invent-a-way-to-communicate-between-us-and/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) ## More by Janine Benyus > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [The answers to our questions are everywhere; we just need to change the lens with which we see the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/the-answers-to-our-questions-are-everywhere-we-just-need-to-change/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [The more our world functions like the natural world, the more likely we are to endure on this home that is ours, but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/the-more-our-world-functions-like-the-natural-world-the-more-likely/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [In reality, we haven't escaped the gravity of life at all. We are still beholden to ecological laws, the same as any other life-form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/in-reality-we-haven-t-escaped-the-gravity-of-life-at-all-we-are-still/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Organisms don't think of CO2 as a poison. Plants and organisms that make shells, coral, think of it as a building block.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/organisms-don-t-think-of-co2-as-a-poison-plants-and-organisms-that/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Water is at the center of every chemical reaction, and therefore should be the earth's most precious gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/water-is-at-the-center-of-every-chemical-reaction-and-therefore/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [After decades of faithful study, ecologists have begun to fathom hidden likenesses among many interwoven systems. ...a canon of nature's laws, strategies, and principles...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/after-decades-of-faithful-study-ecologists-have-begun-to-fathom/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [The answers to how to live sustainably on our planet are all around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/the-answers-to-how-to-live-sustainably-on-our-planet-are-all-around-us/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Green chemistry is replacing our industrial chemistry with nature's recipe book. It's not easy, because life uses only a subset of the elements in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/green-chemistry-is-replacing-our-industrial-chemistry-with-nature-s/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Per capita, I would say that Australia has more biomimetic projects going than many other countries I've been to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/per-capita-i-would-say-that-australia-has-more-biomimetic-projects/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Biological knowledge is doubling every five years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/biological-knowledge-is-doubling-every-five-years/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Nature works with five polymers. Only five polymers. In the natural world, life builds from the bottom up, and it builds in resilience and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/nature-works-with-five-polymers-only-five-polymers-in-the-natural/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Trees and bones are constantly reforming themselves along lines of stress. This algorithm has been put into a software program that's now being used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/trees-and-bones-are-constantly-reforming-themselves-along-lines-of/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [There are three types of biomimicry - one is copying form and shape, another is copying a process, like photosynthesis in a leaf, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/there-are-three-types-of-biomimicry-one-is-copying-form-and-shape/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Organisms sip energy, because they have to work or barter for every single bit that they get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/organisms-sip-energy-because-they-have-to-work-or-barter-for-every/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) [Explore all 44 Janine Benyus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. 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And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) [Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What if, every time I started to invent something, I asked, 'How would nature solve this?'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Janine Benyus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-something-i-asked-how-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-something-i-asked-how-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/janine-benyus-15049_ifs_what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-s_2268600.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/janine-benyus-15049_ifs_what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-s_2268600.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d0/janine-benyus-15049_ifs_what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-s_2268600.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What if, every time I started to invent something, I asked, 'How would nature solve this?'” — Janine Benyus", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Janine Benyus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What if, every time I started...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-something-i-asked-how-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/what-if-every-time-i-started-to-invent-something-i-asked-how-would/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```