Talk:K. Eric Drexler

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[edit] K

What does the K stand for?? Georgia guy 18:10, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)

K stands for Kim.

"Drexler's work on nanotechnology has been criticized as naive by scientists such as Nobel Prize winner Richard Smalley. Smalley argued that nanomachines would have to resemble chemical enzymes more than Drexler's idealized assemblers. Drexler and his followers have launched repeated attacks against Smalley in the media. Most professional nanoscientists have distanced themselves from Drexler in recent years, and regard him more as a publicity seeker than a serious scientist."

Can someone cite places or even a place where Drexler or "his followers" attacked Smalley in the media? Attacking what he said about nanotechnology/chemistry I can see, but this reads as ad hominem. I am going to edit this. If someone wants to revert it, please cite sources for such matters as "publicity seeker." Hkhenson 17:37, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

Well thank god there are people out there who have a scientific understanding and at least a grasp of basic physics. Drexlers view of the world is not just naive it is impossible. That`s not to say that you cannot micromaschine let`s say a gear, it is just that it will never be able to be used in a more complex maschine that actually produces something. Drexler actually imagines a minaturization of facilities like we have today just way smaller - on the nanometer scale. That shows a total lack of understanding real world nanotechnology but worse of all is like believing in the easter bunny at the age of 40.Slicky 04:59, 7 September 2006 (UTC)
Yeah, molecule-sized devices could never be able to produce something as complex as, say, a protein, or a DNA strand, or a human cell.
Oh, wait a minute... — Xaonon (Talk) 04:20, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
The four part debate on Chemical and Engineering news reffered to in the article is a good discussion of the possible critisms of Drexler's views. If somone could be bothered to sumerise it, it would make a more well referenced and impartial discussion of this area. Ralphmcd (talk) 02:27, 13 February 2007 (UTC).
Xaonon: Cells and biomolecules are produced by chemistry (albeit of the supramolecular variety) and thermodynamics, not by mechanics. There is a vast difference!
It is certainly true to say that the professional scientific community wants nothing to do with Drexler, although I couldn't provide a source for that statement. I have been working in the field since his infamous book came out, I have worked and met with many of the top names in the game, and I am yet to meet someone I respect scientifically who thinks they can learn from Drexler. All the same, it's a bit much to attack him for his naivety - if you look at his education, you will realize that you couldn't expect him to have understood the differences between working on the bulk and the nanoscale (although I suppose you could argue that he should have looked into it). He did do some imaginative science fiction writing, and generated a lot of public interest in nanotechnology (which in turn has generated a lot of funding for many of us) - it just needs to be clear that that's what is was, and not hard science.
• TheBendster (talk) 23 September 2007, 11:55 (UTC)