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I am often confused by how quickly the futurist community jumps from "machines which mold plastic shapes" to "machines which are capable of creating a laptop".
by tstactplsignore 13y ago
I am often confused by how quickly the futurist community jumps from "machines which mold plastic shapes" to "machines which are capable of creating a laptop". Surely every modern electronic requires an enormous number of materials, some very rare, some in minute quantities, and some of which may require chemically and/or thermally active reactions in their implementation.
Do many people genuinely think that we are close to this kind of machine? Because to me I simply see far too many hurdles for it to even become realistic. I know everyone is excited about 3-D printers, but within the current constraints of reality I cannot see how the current ones can do much more than print small plastic mechanical parts.
- tenpoundhammer 13y agoPlease research "fun" and "story", I think you will find out why fun stories are often based on things which may not be feasible.
- cowpewter 13y agoOr "speculative fiction" - which often uses currently impossible or implausible technology in order to make a point about society itself.
- TeMPOraL 13y agoSurely modern electronics exist for like, 50 years now. And progress is getting faster, not slowing down. Research for self-replicating machines is being done on many fronts now. And those are not "machines which mold plastic shapes", these are "machines that put various materials to precise computer instructions and can be built at home for less than $1k".