Why Nanotech Dockers Matter

Nanodot.org reminds us of an important truth, as they link to a Yahoo! News article:

"Boosters claim that nanotech-derived products may some day cure disease, slow the aging process and eliminate pollution.

But for now, the human race will have to settle for tennis balls that keep their bounce longer, flat-panel displays that shine brighter and wrinkle-free khaki slacks that resist coffee stains.

"People are saying, 'Geez, this isn't Star Trek yet; this is just pants that don't stain,' but you've got to start somewhere...."

Yes. Large innovations are built on smaller ones. More specifically, the tools that enable large innovations come about from investments that make sense for smaller or more mundane uses. Hence Wilson's "nanoclay" coating inside tennis balls, VailSoft Corp.'s Cerax "racing polymers" for skis, Kodak digital cameras and their "OLED" displays, and special 'nano-whiskers' and natural coatings on synthetic threads.

In these examples, we see more than science. We see the genius of a system that isn't centrally planned. The innovations it produces are sensible, small-scale, and immediately useful, because the system forces adaptation to on-the-ground needs as opposed to a planner's grand visions. Indeed, these small-scale innovations are what create the climate, discipline of feedback, proven knowledge base, and sustainable research funding that make the realization of grand visions possible.

This is rarely a predictable process, as James Burke and others are quick to show us. It is, however, an extremely effective one. Those who practice it get much more than pants that don't stain - they get wealth that's sustainable.

UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds has some thoughts on the other half of the new technology development process, with a discussion of Greenpeace's paper on nanotech, safety, and regulation.