The Proper Path for Nanotechnology

Hey All,
Im a new member at DevShed Forums, but thought it would be a great place to get some feedback about an article I have just published about nanotechnology. The article discusses the basics of the technology for those who might be unfamiliar with it, and also weights the pros and cons of its development, with my own analysis included. If you have a few minutes and would like to check out the article, its at:

URL

Also, if you have opinions regarding the topic, please post! I did a lot of research on the issue and am interested as to what the popular opinion is about it, especially in the tech community.

Thanks!

Good article - interesting, informative, all that stuff they taught us about in journalism

However, I fear that nanotech in the U.S. will either go the way of cloning: i.e. succumb to the "yuck factor" because of irrational responses from a poorly informed public, or the way of the WWW, commercialized and exploited to death for the personal gains of greedy business people. I think we should look forward to nanotech expanding in countries that have shown themselves capable of handling new technologies with some sort of clue... not like we do here in the U.S. Could you see it now? A whole new DMCA section just for nanotech...

The other problem, beyond a technologically clueless governement, is the misinformed sheep-populace this country has somehow raised in the last generation or two. People in the U.S. have been whipped into a frothing mad frenzy over terrorism, despite no credible reason to be so frightened (after all.. the government failed to protect us on 9-11-01 and since then nothing's happened and nothing looks to be happening). Meaningless catch-phrases like "weapons of mass destruction", "evil doers", and "axis of evil" can be attached to anything to instantly make it seem evil and scary. The opponents will do this to nanotech when it become big enough, and as soon as the sheep-people hear it, they will pick up their outrage for a new target (the current target for generally baseless criticism is cloning, so we'll have to wait until they've killed that with their irrational zealotry).

I'd love to see nanotech flourish, and, I think out of the U.S. it probably will. But the sad fact is that our populace is too dumb and our government too bloated and greedy to let it happen. This is just the next big thing the rest of the world can kick our asses with...

And you're right about that wireless phone thing... man.. I can't get a damn signal in about 50% of my general area of movement... sad really.

Glad you enjoyed the article -- my first real crack at a major piece of writing not totally for school

I am also concerned about what our government response will be when nanotech is ready for prime time -- if the media and government haven't toned down the sensationalism by then (and the chances of that are very slim) it will definitely be the US losing out on all the benefits nanotech can bring.