Nature has always been a source for inspiration. Robotics engineers have been, and are currently, involved in studying and mimicking very simple creatures, often finding that the simple methods of these 'simple' creatures are more effective and efficient in performing a particular task than anything we've come up with.

Then I look at evolution. It's become common knowledge among geneticists that more often than not, specialisation results in loss of information in the genes. In other words, a wolf can become both a dog or a fox, but a dog can never evolve to be a fox.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine pointed out the article by Michael Backman . A bit of research, and I come across reports on the recent Umno general assembly. I'm saddened. I feel like reverting back to being a monkey. Is it just me, or is 'race' soon becoming a redundant expression?

Some have said before that we follow our 'father's race'. But in a century's time, we'll soon be seeing Chinese-looking Negros, blonde-haired blue-eyed Indians, and rainbow-coloured I-don't-know-whats. But until then, racism will prevail, albeit in a diminishing fashion, in all multi-racial countries.

Why do we then have to adhere to Nazi-like philosophies? Preservation of a race is nothing more than just that, the preservation of a race. Specialising leads not only to maintaining specialised skills but also too specialised weaknesses. This is nothing new, and frankly, it's getting to be old news.

Diversity - that's the key. A polar bear will die in the desert. A desert lizard will die at the North Pole. But if the polar bear can shelter the lizard when it's cold, and the lizard can shave the polar bear when it's hot, then they both survive both the burning and the freezing.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating that we all blend into a one-race smoothie. And I'm not going to suggest anything. But perhaps I can leave you with an example of what I will do.

Suppose that polar bears and desert lizards lived together in a another world in a galaxy far, far away which had six months of terrible heat and another six months of terrible cold. If I was a tiger, and I wanted to take over that world, I would sow dissent between the polar bears and the lizards. And when they've built an impassable wall between them, I'll watch from afar as the cold exterminates the lizards, and heat annihilates the bears.

I'd then take over the world and bring not only other tigers, but sheep as well, because I know full well tigers will need their wool when it gets cold. If I was a tiger who landed on a world of polar bears and lizards, all I would have to do is sow dissent. Nothing more. And the world will be mine.

And if I was a smart tiger, would I hunt the sheep? You tell me.