Reddit Reddit reviews Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology (Anchor Library of Science)

We found 7 Reddit comments about Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology (Anchor Library of Science). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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7 Reddit comments about Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology (Anchor Library of Science):

u/thelurkingdead · 10 pointsr/Transhuman

Eric Drexler's Engines of Creation, which is mentioned, is a jaw dropping book about what could be possible when this technology develops.

The biggest hurdle is advanced mechanosynthesis. Unfortunately progress on mechanosynthesis beyond the basic 2003 proof of concept mentioned has been disappointing so far. It will be a revolution of revolutions when we get it.

u/peter-pickle · 6 pointsr/askscience

It isn't possible with current technology.

BUT (read Engines of Creation)-
We eventually will have that ability with molecular nanotechnology (ie nanites not carbon nanotubes) ... What that is, is a long discussion but the important bit to it is it would give us the ability to work on problems with cells in the body or dna en mass to do just about whatever we wanted to our bodies including addressing the several causes of aging. 20 years ago they said that it was 50 years away, although it's nearly impossible to guess these things.

The only ways to stave off overpopulation I can think of if mortality is off the table is to not have more kids, create more environment (off planet, underground etc) - which coincidentally becomes pretty possible with molecular nanotechnology, or change the nature of what it is to be human. It's hard to imagine but you could for example go virtual and move in and out of your body if you could model the human brain and how to translate that to and from the structures of the brain.
Sounds way too good to be true but if you achieve the technology there's really no reason for it all not to be possible since it radically affects so many of our abilities.

u/Paul_Revere_Warns · 5 pointsr/Futurology

You can learn about Drexler's explanation of what Robert is basing his predictions off of in Engines of Creation, or his newer book Radical Abundance. Additionally, some way less digestible stuff can be found on Robert Freitas' website. I think this video is the only thing I've really understood when it comes to his work and findings. Ray Kurzweil is also very accessible but a lot of people are skeptical about him because of things unrelated to his rational predictions.

Here's a back-and-forth between Drexler and Richard Smalley, an accomplished chemist who criticises Drexler's vision of nanotechnology. I find it important to understand the criticism lobbied against nanotechnology, and in my opinion the criticism from Smalley is paper thin. He is constantly conceding to Drexler until he has to end his last response with some nonsense about children being afraid of what he's saying. I haven't come across a truly substantial argument against the possibility of manipulating matter at the scale Drexler describes with nanofactories and fleets of medical nanobots, but I hope whatever criticism that is helps the technology become more substantial in our lives.

u/NearABE · 3 pointsr/IsaacArthur

It is from the book "engines of creation" by Eric Drexler. Very worthwhile reading. A lot of what you read in science fiction is borrowed directly or indirectly from Drexler. Some of the ideas are older but Drexler put them together in one package.

u/aim2free · 1 pointr/technology

Was it some of my words you didn't understand or was it the composition of these words?

I can make a few clarifications, the nano assembler is a machine that can compose new matter atom by atom. The research started in the late 80-ies originally after ideas from Richard Feynman. One can say that the field was initiated by Eric Drexler's book Engines of Creation (you get a copy of that book if you become a senior member of Foresight Institute )

The field has recently taken some great steps forward by Gorman 2008, earlier essential steps forward was e.g. Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer's scanneling tunelling microscope which they invented 1981 (Nobel prize 1986).

Some words about future economical crises and grey goo can be read about on this page from CRN (Center for Responsible Nanotechnology). At this place is also an easy to read summary of the potentials and risks.

If you haven't seen it before I really recommend watching this short movie "Productive Nanosystems" which was made 2004, sponsored by Mark Simms and Nanorex. The video has later been improved somewhat.

We are not at all working with nano technology, we will only be the glue between enabling technologies and end consumers. Our goal is that all this technology will be easily accessible for everyone, everyone should be able to be an inventor, creating personal super products.

u/Kancho_Ninja · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Some of us read for funsies Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, but then again, in 1986, I didn't have an xbox and the internet. All I had was imagination and snow both ways uphill.

u/lughnasadh · 0 pointsr/philosophy

If you have read any of Eric Drexler's books on nano-technology, like Engines of Creation or Radical Abundance - he expects the future of nano-tech to be Atomically Precise Manufacturing decentralized at the local level.

I'm very interested in futurology & I find it interesting that two trends that seem to be underpinning all technological change in the 21st century are decentralization and disintermediation.

So in a sense, i'd say Marx may be half right - it is the ultimate fate of the means of production to pass from the control of traditional capitalists, but not to the the state, a body whose significance will fade in our lives as the 21st century goes on, but rather pass closer to regular people at the decentralized local level.