Nanotechnology

[ShadowDancer]

http://www.foresight.org/NanoRev/FIFAQ1.html#FAQ1

Are you excited about nanotechnology or scared? Just as it can do good for humankind, it can be very bad if not used right and who knows to what extent the damage could be. So, are you excited or scared?

I'm personally excited and hopefully I'll be alive by the time this comes out.

[Proto]

Everything that speeds up the discoverement of the truth is received by open arms by me And this will help and faster the mass development of carbon nanotubes, one of the possible basis for our favorite next -gen cuantic computers... yay... but probably ill be to odl when it gets out

One of the dangers the article pose is that of humanity benig replaced by computers. I dont see that as a threat, but as a natural concecuence of the survival of the most adapt. Its artificial evolution created by us. Lets be proud of our children

[Red__XIII]

My friend sent me this link a few months ago. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science...464024,00.html It's amazing what companies will say just to sell their product.

[ShadowDancer]

My chemistry teacher and one of my other teachers were saying that our generation is going to live up to 200 years old or something like that. Is that because of this? I don't know if I'm excited about the medical part of this or the technology part (the unreal computers and stuff). It seems really cool to me.

That Popular Science article was funny to me. Don't know if it that was the purpose of the article but it made me giggle. Companies sure do lots of crazy things, like you said, to sell stuff.

[(F)ragnarok(F)]

being able to live up to 200 years? man, how come i dont see it yet?? neway, i think it'll really advance the medical field, which is great btw, y fear something thats not even reality yet?

[ShadowDancer]

Originally Posted by (F)ragnarok(F)

being able to live up to 200 years? man, how come i dont see it yet?? neway, i think it'll really advance the medical field, which is great btw, y fear something thats not even reality yet?

Because sooner or later it'll be reality and sooner or later people are going to fear when someone abuses this new technology. The uncertainity and the unknown is what should be feared.

[Boltzmann]

I've great hopes on nanotechnology (to extent a pessimist can have hope ).

Since the main idea was conceived in 1959 (by the american physicist and Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman) it got a lot of atention among the futurists (and transhumanists) comunity.
But it wasn't until Eric Drexler's groundbreaking work (culminating with his doctorate thesis on MIT) which is fully described in his book "Nanosystems" that nanotechnology was proved as physically feasible. His book "Engines of Creation" goes more into the social (and practical) aspects of nanotech, and I recommend it to anyone wanting to delve into this subject.

Everyone should check the Foresight Institute website, as it contains tons of articles, reviews and excerpts of books about Nanotechnology, along with it's implications to our future.

BTW, you can read the book "Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology" online - here (admins, don't worry - it's freely available on the net ).

[(F)ragnarok(F)]

just fear it when its here. i mean there no point in u fearing it when its out of ur reach. let the technical ppl deal with it. n in the mean time, relax, eat a chocolate bar or something

[Boltzmann]

Let us be the "technical people", then
I mean, I'm very interested in the current development of nanotechnology, and we can always think and discuss about the policies that will be needed in the future.

Nanotechnology can literally change the face of the planet.

[(F)ragnarok(F)]

u mean changing the land formation?

[Boltzmann]

Originally Posted by (F)ragnarok(F)

u mean changing the land formation?

And why not?
Nanoreplicators could do just that if they ever got out of control (this is known as the "grey goo" scenario). It's one of the many possibilities brought by mature nanotechnology.

That's why we must discuss the necessary policies now, before it's too late.

[Proto]

That's why we must discuss the necessary policies now, before it's too late.

WTF policies? science musnt be tampered by lousy human needs

Humm... but now seriously speaking, if we talk about policies about technology either they will be so general that they will be useless, or so specific that they will be useless again if the technology turns out to be different

[(F)ragnarok(F)]

oh well, i guess im too much of a nihilist to give a **** about watll happen

[Kidd]

With that kind of stuff we can do so much! Wow! I'm so excited! What if my children or grandchildren doesn't have to work - because everything is taken care of by machines? A perfect utopia where machines and humans live in harmony... and that's just ONE thing you can do with it (though it requires more than just the actual nanotechnology).

Think about all the medical care! Wow!!! I'm so thrilled!! *giggles*

[Rhombus]

Through medical applications of nanotechnology and cloning techniques (stuff like applications of stem cell generation) eventually human beings will be practically immortal (lifespans spanning multiple centuries). Unfortunately I foresee the time when this happens will be far sooner than (maybe within even 100 years) figuring out space travel capable of finding another Earth-like planet capable of human colonization (as Star Trek would call it, a 'Class M' Planet ). This means that at that point in time overpopulation and resource distribution (already a major issue even now) would be a huge problem.... and quickly Earth's resources would be spent and the planet would 'dry up' so to speak.

[Boltzmann]

Originally Posted by ProtoMan

WTF policies? science musnt be tampered by lousy human needs

Humm... but now seriously speaking, if we talk about policies about technology either they will be so general that they will be useless, or so specific that they will be useless again if the technology turns out to be different

It's not useless as you think. Nanotech is a potentially devastating technology, and we can't wait until we have it fully matured to make a decision about how to control it. The worst-case scenarios (the so-called "black goo" scenarios) preditct global destruction within a few days if nanoreplicators (assemblers, in Drexler terminology) scaped somehow.
Check the Foresigh Institute website and you'll see the kind of talk they have there (and you can always join us on the World Transhumanist Association discussion list ).

BTW Rhombus, I think that by the time mature nanotech greatly extends human lifespan we would have already reached the needed technology to travel beyond the solar system. Even if we had not reached it by then it would be reached soon, since nanotech will be a major step towards a lot of novel technologies. So overpopulation wouldn't be big in big concern regarding nanotech.

[(F)ragnarok(F)]

uh, wats nanoreplicators?

[Boltzmann]

Originally Posted by (F)ragnarok(F)

uh, wats nanoreplicators?

Nanorobots (tiny robots, with a size comparable to a human blood cell - or even smaller) that are able to replicate themselves - just building copies of themselves from the available raw matter (almost anything, since these nanobots manipulate matter at the atomic level).

[(F)ragnarok(F)]

n y would we want nanoreplicators?

[Proto]

n y would we want nanoreplicators?

Im just guessing, but it could have multiple ranges. When well controled, it its uses could be from growing machines, machines that repair themselves, nanorobots programed to repair damaged organs etc