We just saw a good nanotechnology joke…finally. It comes from none other than Jim Thomas at the ETC Group. Mr. Thomas published this joke in the official Oxford University student newspaper. It goes something like this:
Theres a nuclear scientist, a genetic engineer and a nanotechnologist all being held at the barrel of a gun by a desperate man at the beginning of a very bad joke. The captor says hell shoot all of them unless they can convince him they are doing something good for the world. The nuclear scientist tries first, explaining that nuclear power is clean, cheap, and will solve climate change. Unconvinced, his captor shoots him dead and turns next to the nanotechnologist to plead his case.
Before he can say a word however, the genetic engineer intervenes No! pleads the genetic engineer please shoot me first Id rather die than hear yet another lecture on why nanotechnology is going to save the world!
This attitude of “nanotechnology is going to save the world” is more or less what Cientifica and (TNTLog) has been fighting against for years in the face of never ending marketing hokum.
Nanotechnology is an enabling technology that will help manufacturing sectors make things a little faster, a little better, and sometimes even a little cheaper. Knowing the extent and degree to which nanotechnology can do these things in each application area determines whether it will actually be adopted, i.e., will it help companies’ bottom line.
But you know what? In this commercial-driven process, the world may indeed get a little better–for everyone. Consider nanotechnologies application in water applications. If you haven’t check this out.