I learned it as part of my 2nd year mechanical engineering design course. It was a great way to teach concept generation to novices and expand awareness of alternative solutions. As our experiance grows, we become more aware of the possibilities. I don&#x27;t think any of our class still uses TRIZ in their professional work, but learning the process of seeking inventive solutions from other applications is critical.<p>A parallel is perhaps biomimetics [1], an active current research area of &#x27;design inspired by life&#x2F; biology&#x27;. Often, it is controversial if the invention was truely inspired by nature, or just made for good marketing. &#x27;Shark skin&#x27; swimsuits were named by marketers after the actual invention [2]. Our experiance with heavier-than-air flight was terrible until we <i>stopped</i> trying to mimic how birds fly.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Biomimetics" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Biomimetics</a>
[2] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.independent.co.uk&#x2F;news&#x2F;science&#x2F;swimsuit-is-not-like-shark-skin-6699673.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.independent.co.uk&#x2F;news&#x2F;science&#x2F;swimsuit-is-not-li...</a>