Wearable Technology

When is small small enough? And when is fast fast enough? Those were two questions that came to me when I began to consider how nanotechnology could be used to improve a specific job or task with which I am familiar. A task that immediately popped in my head was that of following a recipe to prepare a meal. A fairly simple task; one which usually requires a job aid, also known as a recipe book. Generally speaking, people do not memorize recipes and therefore depend on a recipe book for directions. How could nanotechnology help me with this?

From the example of Kevin Warwick's capsule implant that contained microprocessors, it seems it is only a matter of time before there are tiny supercomputers that could be implanted in us. It is already amazing to me that my little iPod can hold as much information as it does. It is very commonplace for people to take pictures, check their email, and perform all kinds of applications on their cell phones. So through nanotechnology, I am envisioning my "iPod" being even more powerful, with more memory, and so super-tiny so that it can be implanted in me. Wearable technology. So this is when the two questions came to me: When is small small enough? And when is fast fast enough? Well, I sure wouldn't need that big recipe book anymore. Just how fast do I need that recipe anyway? It already seems that information is merely a few key strokes away. Do I really need a little computer inside me?

Of course, helping people make lasagna was not the motivation behind nanotechnology. The BrainPop video that is linked to the picture above describes nanotechnology and gives some hypothetical applications for it, specifically the possibility of creating nanobots and having them do pretty fantastic things. But a fantastic technology such as this should do fantastic things. So even though it's not practical for helping me with my cooking, I'm sure implanting a microscopic computer into a human would have some positive applications.
Warwick's capsule could tell the lights to turn on. That seems like just a convienence, which would fall into the how fast is fast enough catagory. But the idea of having it programmed to communicate with other devices in your environment has some definite potential. For example, if your chip could talk to the chip in the car speeding towards you, it could tell it to slow down and stop. A perfect combination of small and fast working together. Now that would be fantastic.