So we have not yet come to simply being able to say; “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” and receiving the same in a matter of seconds. This is not about the nearly instantaneous rearrangement of molecules. But it is, none the less, a scientific revolution all its own that has social, economic, and political consequences that cannot be understated.
But while we have not yet achieved the long sought dream of the Cornucopia Machine, or Molecular Assembler, we have arrived at a place where the beginnings of change are unavoidable, and more or less on time too. The following post and the videos included, are about the first tangible examples of this change. The subject ares cover a wide range, from art and fashion, to industry and medicine. And in each case, the access capital requirement is extremely small.
In order to understand just why that last bit is important, let’s look back to 1859, when Karl Mark wrote in the Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy that:
There is in every social formation a particular branch of production which determines the position and importance of all the others, and the relations obtaining in this branch accordingly determine the relations of all other branches as well. It is as though light of a particular hue were cast upon everything, tingeing all other colours and modifying their specific features…
At the time, Marx was referring to the Capitalists, the Wealthy, the Ruling Class, whom were all sort of rolled up into one group. And to a certain extent, the observation still holds true. But what is changing is the necessary capital required to enter into the “the means of production.” This is extremely important because the shift in who or whom controls the means of production necessitates a shift in the political landscape we live in. The argument goes something like this; as the means of production come into more hands, the influence of the so called “Ruling Class” is reduced, and the amount and quality of democracy is increased. 3D Printers have already in just a couple of years dropped from $100,000 USD for large industrial models, to about $2,800 USD for desktop models such as this:
“The MakerBot Replicator 2 – How It Works”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKTSdW7-H3Q
While I cannot endorse the MakerBot Replicator product as I have never used one, I can say that what I have seen this king technology produce is amazing. And anyone that wants to buy us a MakerBot Replicator will be most warmly welcomed with wide arms.
But what about art? Well that is, for me anyway, where this blog post started. A while back, my wife, an abonoxiously talented sculpture, sent along this video, from OMOTE 3D SHASHIN KAN which incorporates a 3D Scanner and a 3D Printer to make sculptures of people. The results are amazing:
And yes, there is a metal works version too. I’d like to have one of these just so I can make replacement plumbing parts that won’t break within a year. I mean it’s gotten really bad when the guys that own the local hardware store say “Get the cheapest one. They are all made out of the same pot-metal anyway.”
This blog post might have ended there, but for the curious way in which YouTube associates videos. When I and my wife were watching the metal working video above, and talking about all the things in our 70-something year old house that we would like to replace, the original lattice work on the doors that are currently rusting in the garage being a prime example, I noticed over to the right of the screen the “Spray-on Clothing” video. The reason why is fairly obvious. But while I’m a fashion rock, the other applications of this process for medicine are amazing.
Which after a quick search, brings us here:
“Liquid Bandages’ Could Help Re-Grow Skin, Save Lives”
I wonder how long before we see the first cyborgs. No wait- they are already here:
“One Step Beyond – The First Human Cyborg”
Self-replicating biotechnologies such as nanobots may be the answer to immortality. I don’t know. But I hope they get on with it. I want to go see the Helix Nebula eyeball with my own eyes.