Form follows function—that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.
—Frank Lloyd Wright (legendary architect)

0. Intro ⛵

The ubiquity of form—design, in other words—is leant credence and bolstered by its acceptance so as to become a transparent feature of the function it serves. In other words, form follows function.

1. Enter The Armadillo 🐳

Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
— T. S. Eliot (in The Rock)

I should’ve asked at the outset, but…

How did the title grab you, that thing about form and function, conjoined?

And speaking of form—the ubiquity of form to be precise—what to make of the glorious armadillo? Is form following function there, evolutionarily? Hmm…

A good start—to fathom the fitness of form—may well be a few verses of rhyme, a tribute, in fact, to the armadillo’s “insular” uniqueness. So here we go, breaking into rhyme, with a few verses by yours truly:

A marvelously zany creature now is the armadillo
Ever been tempted to call him Nature’s peccadillo?
Search up North and all the way down South in Amarillo
You won’t find him listed anywhere on Zillow

And yes, this was inspired when I spotted a zany armadillo just the other day.