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From: peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: sci.misc
Subject: Re: Engines of Creation: Nanotechnology
Message-ID: <1211@sugar.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Dec-87 22:50:44 EST
Article-I.D.: sugar.1211
Posted: Wed Dec  2 22:50:44 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 9-Dec-87 07:25:16 EST
References: <799@sbcs.sunysb.edu> <2698@drivax.UUCP> <1063@sugar.UUCP> <1445@m-net.UUCP>
Organization: Sugar Land UNIX - Houston, TX
Lines: 18
Keywords: nanotechnology foresight drexler
Summary: Besides, Grey Goo is born, not made.

Russ Cage:
> Doug Moen:
> >Me:
> >>Even Drexler is uneasy about the "Grey Goo".
> >[...]  If it *does* turn out to be possible to build Grey Goo...
> You have to find it first.... you have to analyze its program to see
> if it ever quits reproducing.
> This is exactly equivalent to the halting problem, which is insoluble.

Besides, Grey Goo is more likely to be born by accident, not made. If you
have problems with alpha hits in microtechnology, what do you think radiation
will do to nanotechnology? You're gonna knock off the control system for
some gadget before it's even out of the lab. This stuff makes biowarfare
research look like a Thomas Salter chemistry set. (You can't do anything
REALLY dangerous with those kits. I know. I tried)
-- 
-- Peter da Silva  `-_-'  ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter
-- Disclaimer: These U aren't mere opinions... these are *values*.