X-Message-Number: 20969
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 15:33:45 -0800
From: Kennita Watson <>
Subject: reassembly by nanodevices

Thomas Donaldson wrote:
> It would be good if you read rather than simply cited Ralph Merkle's
> piece. A physical nanodevice may work out locations of molecules,
> but the results of many such devices must SOMEHOW be put togher
> to work out the correct locations from the incorrect locations
> these devices find. Yes, they could all feed their results into
> a relatively large computer (not nanosized, if only  because the
> memory size wouldn't be large enough). If we're going to be
> using nanodevices for repair of frozen brains, bringing in that
> computer is cheating. It won't be a nanodevice, though as a 
> hypersupercomputer it could certainly be made much smaller than
> supercomputers are now. If you claim that the computer is made
> up of a combination of all your nanodevices, the same problem
> occurs (our brains are made up of millions of neurons, but
> no one claims that brains are nanodevices). 

I must be missing something.  AISI, a large computer is not
needed, given a set of assumptions (arguments about how hard
each is to achieve is beyond the scope of this supposition).

1) that each nanodevice can have a unique identifier
2) that each nanodevice can communicate with its nearest
    neighbors
3) that each nanodevice can determine where in threespace
    (relative to some arbitrary reference point) each of
    is nearest neighbors is -- direction may be all that
    is necessary; absolute distance might be nice
4) that each nanodevice has enough storage to keep a table
    of nearest-neighbor location data, a set of data on the
    best fit so far, and nudging heuristics of the "getting
    warmer, getting colder" variety.

Basically, I find it analogous to putting together jigsaw
puzzles.  While people have found more efficient ways,
sometimes it can be fun to put together a puzzle without
looking at the box, by just finding individual pieces that
fit each other and building the whole puzzle from small bits
that grow together at the edges.

Brains are not nanodevices; brains are m/b/tr/illions of
nanodevices working in concert, which is sort of the point.
-- 
May you live long and prosper,
Kennita
--
Kennita Watson          | Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
     |   None but ourselves can free our minds.
http://www.kennita.com  |           -- Bob Marley, "Redemption Song"

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