Nanoconvergence: The Unity of Nanoscience, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Science Book

Preface     xiii
About the Author     xix
Convergence at the Nanoscale     1
The Meaning of "Nano"     1
Nanotechnology and Scientific Progress     4
Technological Convergence     9
Application Areas     15
Radical Transformations     17
The Plan of This Book     19
References     22
Visions and Illusions     25
Imagination and Impossibility     25
Birds Can't Fly to the Moon     26
Cold Facts     28
Science Fiction     29
Drexler's Vision     35
Alchemy at the Nanoscale     42
Nanopanic     44
Conclusion     46
References     47
Information Technology     51
Moore's Law     51
Sensors     58
Quantum Computing     60
The Information Technology Research Initiative     63
Grand Information Technology Challenges     68
Conclusion     74
References     76
Biotechnology     81
Nanotechnology from the Perspective of Biology     81
Nano-Bio Convergence     83
The Problem of Cancer     87
Paths to Nano-Bio Innovation     89
Agriculture and the Environment     92
Evolutionary Methods: Computing and Culture     95
Improving Human Performance     103
Conclusion     106
References     107
Cognitive Technology     113
The Two Faces of Cognitive Science     113
Cognitive Convergence     117
The Prehistory of Cognitive Technologies     124
Neurotechnology     128
The Communicator     133
Conclusion     136
References     137
Unification of Science     143
Creating Convergers     143
Eight Principles for Convergence     149
Conservation     150
Indecision     151
Configuration     152
Interaction     153
Variation     153
Evolution     154
Information     155
Cognition     155
Ethical Principles     156
Social Relations     159
Behavioral Social Science     163
Conclusion     168
References      169
Unity in Diversity     175
Critics of Convergence     175
Looking Forward     180
Family and Reproduction     181
Culture and Personality     183
Societal Institutions     186
Science, Health, and Environment     188
How Will the World Be Governed?     189
A New Science of Services     195
Conclusion     200
References     201
The Final Frontier     207
The Giant Leap     207
The Realities of Interplanetary Travel     211
The Solar System     215
Personality Transfer     222
What Is to Be Done?     228
Conclusion     231
References     232
Index     239