Deconstruction as a pathway to interpret a convergence of reasons.

All forms compromise groupings of reasons. This is the same for both natural forms and for human design. When seeking to shed light on those reasons, if we can deconstruct the form into minute elements, it becomes easier to comprehend the reasons behind the form. In biology, this is called anatomy. Anatomy has a long history: humans have been using the processes of  anatomical dissection to learn about the natural world since around 3500 BC.

In the design of man-made objects, too, there are development processes in which insights are gained through deconstruction. Reverse engineering, the process of investigating a rival company’s product by taking it apart, could surely be seen as the anatomy of physical goods. Well-known is the case of Toyota Motor Corporation, which began by deconstructing a 1933 Chevrolet automobile and attempting to replicate it completely. The Japanese verb “wakaru” which means to understand, has its linguistic origin in the word  “wakeru”, to divide: by deconstructing we can bring light to the relationship between elements that were previously hidden from view. This is in itself a process of comprehension and cognition.

De(construct)signs.
If we deconstruct an olive tree and an electric fan, we would find that the tree can be divided broadly into just four components: limbs (wood and bark), leaves, fruit (seeds and flesh) and roots. The fan, on the other hand, is a massive agglomeration of over 100 different parts. This kind of comparison between living things and man-made ones reveals not only that natural creations have far fewer elements, but that the reasons for each element are far more numerous. Excellent designs are those with few elements and many reasons. Nature is a far more proficient designer than us, and we have many things indeed to learn from nature.