August 16, 2005
Drexler Gets Down to Business
It’s a sign of the times when "World Renowned Scientists" like Eric Drexler have to get out of bed and start job hunting. With molecular nanotechnology employment opportunities still depressingly hard to come perhaps it boiled down to making a choice between getting on your bike, Tebbitt style, or flipping burgers at the Palo Alto branch of McDonalds.
It seems Drexler chose to pedal to Michigan. We have few fears of rampant nanobots getting loose, as the new employer, Nanorex is involved in that old MNT staple, simulation, and has now simulatorized some very nice images of molecular gears that look exactly like the ones that Merkle and Drexler were touting ten years ago. That’s progress for you!
In all fairness, it's a pretty good simulation package, generates some nice images and may have applications beyond simulating devices that may never be built, and of course if that's what tickles your fancy, having Eric Drexler on board is quite a coup for such a small company.
It does make us wonder what it takes to prise an MNT fan away from their computer screens and get them to do some real science. Sticking little Linux penguins on al the glassware in the lab may help, something like this or a perhaps nothing short of a new episode of Star Trek?
Posted by Cientifica at August 16, 2005 06:44 PMA rather strong posting criticizing other people's research, considering your company seems to only be interested in peddling other people's work and not actually doing any real lab work. Well done for taking a biased stand in a scientific field! That's sure to stop MNT research dead in its tracks. Please be sure to tell the following (http://www.foresight.org/roadmaps/index.html) that they wasted their time and money in funding/developing/driving the productive nanosystems roadmap currently plastered over the front of the Foresight Institute site.
- a conscientious contributor to the dearth that is your roster of comments
Posted by: required info at August 16, 2005 10:55 PMI think the fundamental issue here is whether many of the 'thought experiments' and simulations that seem to preoccupy MNT fans could be called research. Many in the scientific community would argue that it can not, and this is supported by the lack of publications and experimental data.
Science is not, and never has been a question of simply coming up with a theory and claiming to be right.
Posted by: cientifica at August 17, 2005 08:30 AMLooking for someone to critique the Drexlerian nanotech view at the Gilder/Forbes Telecosm '05 Conference, September 26 - 28, in Lake Tahoe.
Any takers should drop me an email at mcollins@gilder.com,
Mary Collins
Gilder Technology Report
More information on Telecosm '05 is available online at www.telecosmconference.com.
Posted by: Mary Collins at August 17, 2005 07:40 PM