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Any feature that performs a function but was not produced directly (purposefully) for its current affordance. This is the universe we wish to explore — a universe of possibilities unknowable in advance found in and with everything.
For a more explicit definition of exaptations with examples refer to Emerging Futures Newsletter Volume 43: Defining Exaptations.
Exaptation is a process by which novel affordances have a novel impact on the agent and it’s co-evolving niche. This novel affordance can emerge from an existing stable affordance relationship or from a new and unique affordance relationship.
This is an evolutionary process of utilizing unintended affordances to novel ends.
What makes exaptation as a process so radical is that it does not require any form of fore-knowledge, ideation or prediction. Exaptive processes allow one to go beyond the known and the knowable.
Most, if not all, critical processes in living beings: flight, perception, grasping – and the associated relational features of organisms (wings, feathers, eyes, bones, etc.) came into being via exaptive processes.
Most, if not all human processes of innovation also rely to varying degrees upon exaptive processes.
Exaptation as a process is part of the affordance processes involved in the paired processes of radical niche co-construction and agent co-evolution. As affordances stretch from very basic relations to ones of “higher” cognition so too can exaptive processes.
Because of exaptive processes power to generate novelty within the logic of radical niche construction they can be a very powerful part of any innovation processes.
Exaptation is a term that emerged in the 1980’s in evolutionary theory (first developed by Gould & Verba) to replace Darwin’s term “pre-adaptation” (a character or the condition of possessing a character that takes on a function when none previously existed or that differs from its original function).
Gould and Verba (1982) defined exaptation as an effect of:
Gould Developed this further into a taxonomy of four types:
[a] In category effects (or at scale effects): this is when the unintended effect is in a similar space.
[b] Outside category effects (injections across scales) — this is where the most powerful exaptations are to be found— where they open new spaces of possibility: whale vision based on sonar from clicking, or how humming birds can sing with their wings.
This definition has been challenged (and developed further) for its focus on material properties rather than processes, and because it can make it seem like one exaptation leads to a novel outcome (feathers exapted = flight).
More recently it has been fused with the concept of affordances and radical niche construction.
Exaptation is a derivative of aptation.
A wing is a great example of exaptation in nature. A wing can be sexy, ward off predators, keep eggs warm, and be used for flight.
The wheel as an example of exaptation in innovation. The wheel is used for transportation, to generate power (watermill), or as a gear in an engine.
... is to ask yourself: "what else can this [any physical object, tool, aspect of the environment, concept, or aspect of yourself] do?" – “What else can this do that is not intended?”
Which is the opposite of adaptation where some thing evolves in a way that improves its existing purpose— a change in degree if you will.
While a radical exapatation exceeds its immediate quantitative purpose to allow an unknown novel world to co-emerge.
We can thus summarize the space of exaptations:
1. Unintentional features: unintentional features will have one of two types of effects:
[a] In category effects (or at scale effects): this is when the unintended effect is in a similar space.
[b] Outside category effects (injections across scales) — this is where the most powerful exaptations are to be found— where they open new spaces of possibility: whale vision based on sonar from clicking, or how humming birds can sing with their wings.
2. Purposeless non-functional features: Every thing has many features that are just there. Perhaps in the making of your particular coffee cup the glaze just dripped a small amount. A little noise in the system that cause some slight but meaningful shift.
3. Invisible introductions: chance physical by-products can produce invisible introductions. These can also be in category or cross category effects.
4. Unintended effects of Intentional Features: this is the category that comes across from intentional features and effects.
For more, navigate to our complete list of articles on exaptations for innovation.
