From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@aeiveos.com)
Date: Tue Aug 20 2002 - 20:31:50 MDT
On Tue, 20 Aug 2002, Harvey Newstrom, commenting on my sci-fi comments wrote:
> I think it is fantasy to consider self-replicating nanotech versus
> Saddam. Saddam will die of old age long before nanotech
> self-replicating luxury homes are shipping.
Harvey -- you of all people shouldn't be claiming this. You actually
have the Robiobotics business plan (though I bet you haven't read it).
Biotech *is* nanotech. Now, sure during this decade, the houses
would probably have to be rooms shaped like elephants or whales
stacked side-by-side (because we only have homeobox genes for
animals shaped like elephants or whales). But once we crack
the shape code, I expect we will be able to do much better.
You should go to Sequoia National Park and imagine growing
Sequoia trees using salt water to create Lothloriens scattered
throughout the Mid-east.
They are genomes Harvey -- they can be reprogrammed. Its all
a question of making it cheap enough to allow home hobbyists
to do it!
> Some people have trouble seperating current reality with future fantasy.
Cough. A lot of the stuff we talk about on this list is "fantasy"
to *most* humans alive today. I asked Michael Butler at a diner
the bunch of us had during Extro4, "How many people do you think
*really* understand what we are talking about?" The answer was
a few thousand at best.
Making fantasy a reality is a question of how clever you are.
Who would have thought in 1995 that NASA would be funding space
elevator studies?
> Sure, self-replicating nanotech might work some day, but it certainly
> isn't the solution to our problems in this decade.
It depends -- I notice the Berkely folks who have the bacteria
that produces hydrogen have started a company to commercialize
its potential. If the government gets really gets behind this
it could transform the energy playing field in this decade rather
than the next decade as they currently speculate.
> Even if there is a sudden breakthrough in nanotech, we will get
> better weapons, super-shields, biotech, micro-robots and other
> warfare devices long before we start mass producing self-replicating
> houses. This is even too silly for science fiction.
I'm sorry you feel that way Harvey. How about this -- a form
say 4" x 6" x 10' into which you pour salt water and a seed
culture, let sit in the sun for a few days, adding as needed
CaCO3 or Si02 (ground up limestone or silica) and out pops
a beam (or a big "brick") with the strength of abalone shell.
Is that so impossible to imagine? Sure you need labor to
put the bricks together but there is no lack of that in
the Mid-East.
The same principle applies to letting your form produce
anything from yogurt to solar-steak.
Argue your limitations and they are yours.
-- Richard Bach
Robert
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