April 22, 2007
The Axis of Evil: Traditional Leaders in Nanotechnology since 1000 BC!
According to Iran’s Cultural Heritage News Agency Iranians Enjoyed Nanotechnology 3000 Years Ago (via Nanowerk).
The nanotechnology appears to be nanoparticles in paint (wow! just like nanoparticles in soot!) and nanoparticles "which attract harmful rays from mobiles which are employed in structures" (apparently Cyrus the Great used cellphones as construction material).
These findings remind me of North Korea's nanotech toothbrushes, nano-lubrication and nano-water improver (scroll down to middle of page). I can't find the report I read a few years ago about how a traditional stone remedy (?) had nanomedical properties.
(Korean News is an unintentionally hillarious yet sinister 'news' source. What about: "Kim Jong Il Sends Books to Grand People's Study House", where the donated books include Microsoft Windows 2000 Security Guide and Potato Food. "Scientific and Technological Presentation Held" proudly reports about reasearch into the immortal flowers "Kimilsungia" and "Kimjongilia". "U.S. Move Seeking Preemptive Attack Strategy Lambasted". And ominiously, "measures have been taken not to allow a single AIDS case in North Korea").
It is easy to make fun of this kind of breathless nationalist promotion. If nanotechnology is important, then we must have had it for ages since we are such a great nation! Part of it is of course the bad translations, but it is also the earnestness that gets us cynical westerners to smile. That humorless yet passionate approach does not work with our memetic antibodies.
It also is curious to see how nationalism makes a hash of ideological consistency. This nano-news and the recent Iranian criticism of 300 (and the Alexander movie) suggests that Iran thinks its pre-islamic past is so great that it must be defended from criticism (or merely dumb movies), while pre-islamic communities are persecuted. And apparently North Korea, despite being world leaders in everything, needs more researchers.
So what's next? Hugo Chavez revealing ancient Venezuelan micromachines?
Posted by Anders3 at April 22, 2007 09:59 PM