Yes, I'm afraid the Crichton fantasies are still very much fiction at this point. The approach he takes in that book and some of the science is pretty legit, but we are nowhere near that point. For the most part, this technology is really in its infancy. A lot of energy is going into simply (well, not that simple really) fabricating structures and studying their properties. The approach taken in the Crichton book is what is considered a bottom-up approach, where you basically start with individual atoms/molecules and get them to fit together in certain ways. In the book, they use genetically engineered bacteria to produce the molecules, which is already a common way to produce lots of things (eg. insulin). However, once you've got the molecules you're interested in the hard part is getting them to assemble into the desired structures and then integrating them with other systems.

I think you will see nanotechnology widespread as a supplement to already existing technologies in the near future (10+ years) - there is already quite a bit of this going on. However, if you're waiting for nanotechnology to supplant existing technologies for applications in electronics, etc. you'll probably be old and gray (or dead) if/when it happens.

There's quite a bit of nanotech in the book The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson if you like reading about fictional applications of nanotechnology.

Some examples include a force-field-like fence that surrounds a certain community of well-off folks. It has the ability to recognize you as you pass through (if you're allowed) or stop you if you aren't recognized, a cloud of nano robots that flies through the air with cameras that relay information back to their owner (usually the police) while they search for or are assaulting a perpetrator meanwhile covering him in recognizable ink so he's easily identifiable. There's also the obligatory few nano robots (viruses) that get into the blood stream of people and cause havoc.

It's a pretty good book, but probably the coolest piece of technology in it is a book, much like an advanced laptop or notebook computer, that is the main character's best friend from the time of her toddler-hood.

Usually Snow Crash and The Cryptonomicon get more publicity for Stephenson, but I thought that The Diamond Age was better than Snow Crash.

russ wrote:Usually Snow Crash and The Cryptonomicon get more publicity for Stephenson, but I thought that The Diamond Age was better than Snow Crash.

Quicksilver was very fascinating and it hurt my brain and I hope to read it again before the next one hits.

Don't bother with anything before Snow Crash.

Hey, book talk! This is more like it!

Thanks russ and Mr. Chimp - I had always heard very good things about Cryptonomicon: is that before Snow Crash?

Remember when they were talking about "digital ink" that would reform itself depending on the programming?

Dylan wrote:I had always heard very good things about Cryptonomicon: is that before Snow Crash?

Cryptonomicon was after Snow Crash. So you're safe. Cryptonomicon has been followed by Quicksilver which contains ancestors and some of the same characters from Cryptonomicon. I'm half-way through Quicksilver now.

Quicksilver has a companion web site, http://www.metaweb.com that helps explain and give background to references in the book. It's pretty cool.

Dylan wrote:Remember when they were talking about "digital ink" that would reform itself depending on the programming?

That's kinda like the book in Diamond Age but I think it's just two LCD-like screens instead of real ink.

Dylan wrote:Hey, book talk! This is more like it!

Thanks russ and Mr. Chimp - I had always heard very good things about Cryptonomicon: is that before Snow Crash?

Remember when they were talking about "digital ink" that would reform itself depending on the programming?

I'm guessing at some point that the EA Board participants [who read - editor] will get their collective ass in gear and upgrade to an actual thread.

Cryptonomicon is after Snow Crash and The Diamond Age
are before. I'd vaguely summarize in short:

Snow Crash cyberpunkish

The Diamond Age more friendly cyberpunk

Cryptonomicon present-day edge of technology/historical cryptography

Quicksilver Newtonian Age of Reason/Baroque scientific rationalization e.g. development calculus, scientific method & classification systems
(The first of three 900 pg. volumes)

All of that aside, Stephenson really is a tremendous writer, who maybe is mildly editing-anemic. I have enjoyed each of the four listed above, and got the point of the earlier two (find on your own if you like).

He also wrote In the Beginning.....Was the Command Line which is a treatment/memoir on the history of personal computer opererating systems, but it was a little outside of my interest. I tend to not go blindly at non-fiction, unless the topic is personally iconic. I've just started this bio of Groucho Marx that seems promising.

Russ makes a good point about the Metaweb site. Historical references, both fictional and non-fictional.

I get the feeling that I'm going to be readingQuicksilver and companions over and over again and really enjoying it.

Mr. Chimp wrote:I'm guessing at some point that the EA Board participants [who read - editor] will get their collective ass in gear and upgrade to an actual thread.

That would be nice. Please see the new post.