Vision vs. Technology (8/9/2002)

It’s useful to distinguish between the Feynman/Drexler vision and the Feynman/Drexler (nano)technology. In brief, a vision states a goal, while a technology provides a method for achieving that goal. In practice, technology is the know-how that practitioners in the field use (or will use) on a daily basis to achieve their goal.

In There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom, Richard Feynman laid out the vision of control of structures “all the way down” to the atomic scale. Eric Drexler expanded on that vision in various papers of the early 1980’s and, more notably, in his 1986 book Engines of Creation. However, Feynman/Drexler nanotechnology (nee mechutechnology) did not begin to appear until the the late 1980’s when Eric Drexler began providing detailed technical and scientific analyses of mechular objects and their assembly in various papers and, more notably, in his 1992 book Nanosystems.

It should be noted that some nanotechnology scientists who disregard mechutechnology, nonetheless promote the Feynman/Drexler vision. E.g. Nobel laureate Rick Smalley who has said that “Self-replicating, mechanical nanobots are simply not possible in our world.” (Scientific American, September 2001), has also said that the “ultimate nanotech builds at the ultimate finesse of one atom at a time” (NNI Workshop, Houston, Texas, May 2002).

Non-Mechular Approaches to the Feynman/Drexler Vision (8/9/2002)

It may be possible to achieve the Feynman/Drexler vision without resorting to mechanical assembly. By my definition, such a technology would not qualify as mechutechnology. However, I think that this possibility is exceedingly unlikely. It is worth noting that even biological systems make heavy use of mechanical assembly (e.g., assembly of proteins by the cell’s ribosomes).

(Note that by mechanical assembly, I mean that the constituent parts (atoms, molecules, or component mechules) are grabbed in some way (by an assembler, mill, or other mechuchine), moved together (while still being held), and then joined together. If structures such as the cell’s ribosomes were produced artificially, such structures would qualify as mechular devices.)