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Review:Nano: The Emerging Science of Nanotechnology
Ed Regis, in this 1996 offering, makes the comparison between the believers of the advent of Nanotechnology and cults. K. Eric Drexler plays the role of charismatic leader, there is a belief in an utopian Breakthrough and a nearly blind faith in the correctness of their vision. The Nano faithful look at each other as if they are in on a grand joke of some sort. What Regis attempts to do with his book is to convince the non-Believing among us. By painting a human face on the technology through a description of Drexler himself, Regis converts by making this seem like a story of humanity rather than technology. It's much the same technique that Matthew used to convince people of the validity of Christianity in an earlier text on a novel idea.
Chances are that you are already in one of two camps. If you are already a Believer, you know that the inevitable march of molecular nanotechnology is knocking on the door. If you are a Doubter, it sounds like a load of steaming hooie that this drastic a change of technology could happen in our lifetime.
Whether you are a Believer or a Doubter, Regis is trying to speak to you with this engaging and readable book. By outlining the history of atom level research, and creating a parallel story related to Drexler's advocacy of the technology, Regis is able to blend a human story with a description of nanotech that is more engaging than Engines of Creation and less techy than Nanosystems.
What's Bad?
There is definitely a paeanistic edge to this book. Regis takes some pain to paint Drexler in the most positive light possible. He even seems to minimize Feynman's contributions, painting the physicist as a curmudgeon to prove that while he may have mentioned the idea twenty ideas ago, it took Drexler to get the ball rolling on manipulating matter on the molecular level.
While Regis does a good job of analyzing fuller aspects of the implications of nanotechnology, especially in the latter half of the book, he often doesn't go far enough in his analysis of these effects. "Slant" by Greg Bear is a better picture of the World After if you are interested in the topic. One last caveat is that the three year time period since publication of the book has seen some exciting changes in the field which are of course not covered therein.
What's Good?
This book has a lot going for it. The narrative voice is engaging and makes for an easy read. Regis also does a good job of balancing a plausible description of the technology with succinct scientific descriptions, avoiding some of the super techno speak of previous books on nanotechnology that threatened to cross the eyes of the simple geek. Also, it does a good job of addressing how the technology has been surprising in it's progress, moving less quickly than expected at some points and more quickly at others.
So What's In It For Me?
You get an entertaining read that, while biased, presents a view of nanotechnology that is vastly more satisfying than the smattering of magazine articles or usenet posts that have described the development of the technology so far. It's also a good book if you are a Believer dwelling amongst the unfaithful, to describe what precisely it is that gets you so excited to your friends and loved ones. I had my spouse read excerpts to prove that I wasn't coming up with this crap on my own.
The other thing you hopefully get from this book, especially if you are a Believer, is a renewed sense of vigor and excitement about the possibilities of this technology. Personally, as a Believer I came back with a strong sense of the future, and of the role this emerging technology will play in it.
Other important links... Check out the Foresight Institute and tell 'em Hemos sent ya.
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Created. After that, well, we'd best be careful. ;) If it evolved originally we'd just call it life.
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