W. Patrick McCray
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691176291
- eISBN:
- 9781400844685
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691176291.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics
In 1969, Princeton physicist Gerard O'Neill began looking outward to space colonies as the new frontier for humanity's expansion. A decade later, Eric Drexler turned his attention to the molecular ...
More
In 1969, Princeton physicist Gerard O'Neill began looking outward to space colonies as the new frontier for humanity's expansion. A decade later, Eric Drexler turned his attention to the molecular world as the place where society's future needs could be met using self-replicating nanoscale machines. These modern utopians predicted that their technologies could transform society as humans mastered the ability to create new worlds, undertook atomic-scale engineering, and, if truly successful, overcame their own biological limits. This book tells the story of how these scientists and the communities they fostered imagined, designed, and popularized speculative technologies such as space colonies and nanotechnologies. The book traces how these visioneers blended countercultural ideals with hard science, entrepreneurship, libertarianism, and unbridled optimism about the future. It shows how they built networks that communicated their ideas to writers, politicians, and corporate leaders. But the visioneers were not immune to failure. O'Neill and Drexler faced difficulty funding their work and overcoming colleagues' skepticism, and saw their ideas co-opted and transformed. Ultimately, both men struggled to overcome stigma and ostracism as they tried to unshackle their visioneering from pejorative labels like “fringe” and “pseudoscience”? This book provides a balanced look at the successes and pitfalls they encountered. It exposes the dangers of promotion that can plague exploratory science. But above all, it highlights the importance of radical new ideas that inspire us to support cutting-edge research into tomorrow's technologies.Less
In 1969, Princeton physicist Gerard O'Neill began looking outward to space colonies as the new frontier for humanity's expansion. A decade later, Eric Drexler turned his attention to the molecular world as the place where society's future needs could be met using self-replicating nanoscale machines. These modern utopians predicted that their technologies could transform society as humans mastered the ability to create new worlds, undertook atomic-scale engineering, and, if truly successful, overcame their own biological limits. This book tells the story of how these scientists and the communities they fostered imagined, designed, and popularized speculative technologies such as space colonies and nanotechnologies. The book traces how these visioneers blended countercultural ideals with hard science, entrepreneurship, libertarianism, and unbridled optimism about the future. It shows how they built networks that communicated their ideas to writers, politicians, and corporate leaders. But the visioneers were not immune to failure. O'Neill and Drexler faced difficulty funding their work and overcoming colleagues' skepticism, and saw their ideas co-opted and transformed. Ultimately, both men struggled to overcome stigma and ostracism as they tried to unshackle their visioneering from pejorative labels like “fringe” and “pseudoscience”? This book provides a balanced look at the successes and pitfalls they encountered. It exposes the dangers of promotion that can plague exploratory science. But above all, it highlights the importance of radical new ideas that inspire us to support cutting-edge research into tomorrow's technologies.
Israel Ruiz and Adolfo Plasencia
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036016
- eISBN:
- 9780262339308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036016.003.0025
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
Israel Ruiz, Executive Vice President and Treasurer of MIT, starts this dialogue by outlining the model and mechanisms used by MIT, as an institution, to maintain its leadership in disruptive ...
More
Israel Ruiz, Executive Vice President and Treasurer of MIT, starts this dialogue by outlining the model and mechanisms used by MIT, as an institution, to maintain its leadership in disruptive innovation through an economically sustainable process. He goes on to explain the MIT model for the replacement of professors, a dynamic process, which is combined with encouraging the maximum exchange of innovation between bodies and research centers from inside MIT and external ones, keeping the focus on a key idea for the institution: the flexibility of space and ideas aimed at connecting people. Later, he relates how they deal with the continuous influx of new talent on a large scale, while maintaining the peer-to-peer philosophy. He then talks about the way in which MIT assumes the critical opinion of external sources, which assess how the institution is operating, and also discusses how creative freedom is upheld as a nexus in the long term by ensuring that MIT members get time to create; this comprises part of their economic plan. Finally, he outlines how educational and learning practices are renewed by combining face-to-face teaching with their global online project.Less
Israel Ruiz, Executive Vice President and Treasurer of MIT, starts this dialogue by outlining the model and mechanisms used by MIT, as an institution, to maintain its leadership in disruptive innovation through an economically sustainable process. He goes on to explain the MIT model for the replacement of professors, a dynamic process, which is combined with encouraging the maximum exchange of innovation between bodies and research centers from inside MIT and external ones, keeping the focus on a key idea for the institution: the flexibility of space and ideas aimed at connecting people. Later, he relates how they deal with the continuous influx of new talent on a large scale, while maintaining the peer-to-peer philosophy. He then talks about the way in which MIT assumes the critical opinion of external sources, which assess how the institution is operating, and also discusses how creative freedom is upheld as a nexus in the long term by ensuring that MIT members get time to create; this comprises part of their economic plan. Finally, he outlines how educational and learning practices are renewed by combining face-to-face teaching with their global online project.
