Nanotech: The Rebranding Of Chemistry And Other Boring Sciences
from the it's-all-in-the-sizzle dept
There's been a lot of talk about "nanotechnology" lately, and we've noted in the past that an awful lot of these companies seem to simply be about taking anything "small" that sounds science fiction-like and building up some buzz around it. Business Week is running an interview with a nanotechnology "world leader," talking up the space -- but you have to question what exactly the space really is. When asked about the "hype," this expert claims that all the hype is around nanobots -- which no one is seriously working on. Of course, nanobots seem to be the closest thing to actually being new and innovative compared to the rest of the space. In fact, it's hard to tell from the article how everything else he's talking about is anything other than chemistry, with a shiny coat of marketing hype and dreams of big payouts from investors. Of course, chemistry is considered boring to many, so perhaps nanotechnology is simply how a bunch of chemists and PR people have figured out how to dupe investors out of lots of money that they wouldn't normally invest. At least that would fit with the definition one scientist has given to the field of nanotechnology: "the ability to continue to obtain funding for what you claim is of nano importance."Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Chemistry Boring?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Is that so?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]