The ultimate technology

Years ago, I read K. Erik Drexler’s book Engines of Creation: The coming age of nanotechnology. Aside from the cold war paranoia in the book (and there was a lot of it), there was a lot of very intelligent talk about nanotechnology and what it could accomplish.

Lately, I’ve been seeing a few science fiction writers (Tony Ballentine especially) taking on this idea and examining just how effective those little things could be. First, though, let me give a quick overview of nanotech, from my admittedly limited understanding:

Nanotechnology is the technology of very small things. It’s the idea of a machine so small that it could actually manipulate atoms. It would reproduce by changing the material it was attached to into copies of itself, and would then follow the program to build the new thing. That’s a very non-scientific explanation, but it’s the best I could do on short notice, and I think it will satisfy for our purposes.

Technology vs. Environment

Lately, I’ve been noticing a very interesting trend. In those few times when I watch TV (I’m not pretentious about it, it’s just that there is very little on that I like, and most of what I do won’t be back until the fall) I’ve noticed some commercials that are trending towards the green. Clorox has a line of products now that are environmentally friendly and work just as well. Sure, they’re still in plastic bottles, but it’s at least a step in the right direction.

This trend, which keeps coming up in just about every advertisement, interests me. It’s more than just the fact that green sells now, and it’s popular, so everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon. That’s true, and I think it’s great; whatever it takes to help the planet, I don’t care what their motivations are.

One foot firmly on the threshhold, packing up

I’m very nearly finished my thesis. I achieved the non-content goals (4 pages of citations, more than 40 pages of text) without problem, and I believe I’ve answered all (or most) of the comments I was given on an older draft. Point is, I’m feeling like it’s almost over. The End is Nigh! but in a good way.