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advancedatheist comments on Questions on the human path and transhumanism. - Less Wrong Discussion
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When will geeks give up on this "nanotech" delusion and work on feasible technologies which don't engage in quantum-mechanics denialism?
What is "quantum-mechanics denialism"?
Eric Drexler argued back in the 1980's that we could apply the principles of macroscopic mechanical engineering to create molecular machines which behave as if quantum effects don't exist on that scale.
The fact that this idea has gotten pretty much nowhere in the last 30 years says a lot about the lack of integrity of MIT's Media Lab in granting Drexler a Ph.D. based on this notion.
By contrast, technologies which exploit quantum mechanics - lasers, magnetic resonance imaging, LED lighting, semiconductors, etc. - pretty much invent themselves.
I see. I was not talking about Drexler's classical nanotech, though quantum effects are indeed irrelevant on the scale of, say, blood cells, save for essentially quantum-random ion channel gating and similar transitions. It may well be possible to design nanotech starting with, say, quantum dots, or custom fullerene molecules. Our technology is not there yet, but it's going in the right direction. It's not inconceivable that artificial prion-like structures which are not viruses can be used to modify the DNA in a living organism. Whether this requires a superintelligence or just human intelligence is a separate question.