Bones Seen in the Plate — the bones of the skull observed in this beautiful plate are: the frontal, which forms the four head or front part of the skull; the parietal, constituting a portion of the side and top of the head; the occipital, forming the lower and back part of the skull, and the temporal, which forms the lowest part of the site any part of the base of the cranium. These several bones are joined together by notched seems, after the manner carpenters call “dove-tailing.”

Shape of the Skull — the skull, as will be seen, is oval, which adapts it to the conformation of the brain, besides giving a greater resistance to pressure. The stronger and smaller and is in front, where danger is greatest to the brain, whilst the projections before and behind shield its less protected parks. The peculiar conformation and shape of the skull forms a strong shelter for the brain — an organ so delicate that if not so strongly guarded from injury, and ordinary blow falling upon it would destroy it forever.

I find the description of the seems of the skull rather interesting. I am no doctor nor am I a carpenter, however the analogy of dovetailing strikes me as rather interesting. Upon looking at the picture in short one of the skull, I can distinguish get the impression that dovetailing might be an apt description. That does make me wonder how bones could be grown in a way that emulates dovetailing, however I suspect that it’s probably easier to grown organic substance in that manner than it is to join two pieces of wood by force into notched pieces and make them stick or hold in place. Maybe with the advances of nanotechnology and other areas of convergence and biotech we might actually see a day where actual dovetailing is performed with nanotechnology that grows itself into place.

Can you imagine installing a tile floor or even a wood floor where instead of using grout or glue or a nail gun you activate a nano tech compound that remembers how to join itself and seal the seems of tile or would together?

Don’t get me wrong I recognize that this would use a highly advanced technology to perform something that might actually emulate an old fashion way to cover a floor with tile or wood. It’s probably more likely by the time that we have got firmer grasp on nanotechnology that we may not have the Woods agreed a floor with and we may not have the desire to use tiles of floor covering opting instead for some more ergonomic substance that’s better for our feet and knees. I’m sure in a hundred years my comments will sound quaint and silly just like certain aspects of his books on plain silly to me today.