h a l f b a k e r yTempus fudge-it.
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Microscopic devices for assembling small things do not
appear to be widely available or cheap. However, in days
of yore it was possible for oxen, horses and humans to be
harnessed to build rather larger artifacts such as pyramids
and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
My idea is very simple.
There are very small, widely
available animals with brains which can therefore be
trained to some degree - planarians can be trained to solve
a maze, so clearly rotifers can. Hence i suggest that
rotifers be trained to construct small, intricate machinery
such as watches, analytical engines and one-millionth scale
models of the United Kingdom out of the likes of grains of
sand, alum and so forth. I also envisage attaching tiny
ropes to them and getting them to pull things.
It would be free labour.
[link]
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Like a flea circus? But for *really* small fleas. |
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Quite similar. I was thinking bdelloid rotifers
because they're tough and parthenogenic. In fact,
maybe there should also be performing rotifer circi. |
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// And rotifers are aquatic, aren't they? // |
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Yes indeed, but i can see them nudging things into
position with their coronas. For instance, if they're
positively phototrophic, they could probably be
induced to build a circle of sand grains around a light
source, though that wouldn't need training. |
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So, are you suggesting that rotifers might be able to
meet all of our circle-of-sand- around-a-light-source
needs in the foreseeable future?? |
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Not just circles. By using monochromatic light to
generate interference fringes, the little guys could
be induced to construct more complex structures. |
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Now... with most of these "Train X to do Y" ideas, there tends to be a notable shortcoming in one aspect... |
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How do you propose to train creatures with only a handful of nerve cells? |
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Or possibly less than a handful. |
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Less brain in a rotifer than a mule, and that's saying something. |
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'Training' of very simple creatures is possible, given the right approach. |
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Clearly, we can't expect to put a circuit diagram in front of a hydra and expect results. |
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We can, however, exploit the creatures existing responses by creating false stimulii. This is closer to biochemistry than lion taming. |
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More than a handful, about fifteen in fact, presumably depending on the species. Well, it may be that even a paramoecium can learn, though that might have been a mistake. The possibility of certain stimuli remains even so. I am still holding out for the idea that they can learn. |
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I'm still holding out for the explanation of how we get them to do anything other than moving sand into circles. |
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OK. You get them to move sand into a circle, then you place a coverslip on top of their handiwork, get them to make a slightly smaller circle with a slightly dimmer light or weaker flavour or something, and so on until you have a cone. Then you do the same but increase the strength of the stimulus. Then you whip all the coverslips out in a single deft movement and melt them together in a kiln, and you have an hourglass. |
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I'd start with caddis fly larvae, who build tiny tubes
out of grains of sand or bits of weed. With a little
adaptation, this behaviour could be harnessed to
make tiny tubes out of grains of sand or bits of
weed. |
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// How do you propose to train creatures with only a handful of nerve cells? // |
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Easy - copy the McDonalds staff training programme. |
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// we can't expect to put a circuit diagram in front of a hydra and expect results // |
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Well, obviously. Hydra are much more adept at HVAC design, and landscape gardening. |
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// exploit the creatures existing responses by creating false stimulii.// |
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... otherwise known as "TV Advertising". |
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// This is closer to biochemistry than lion taming // |
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... and still much, much more exciting than Accountancy, Mr. Anchovy. Perhaps you could get the illuminated sign on your hat reprinted ? |
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// tiny tubes out of grains of sand or bits of weed // |
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Give them little grains of graphite and let them build carbon nanotubes ... |
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As it happens, this idea started with microscopic
rotifer-like robots made entirely out of various
allotropes of carbon, which were fed on soot and
pencil leads. Oh, and caddis flies? Doubleplusgood. |
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It's an interesting approach, even if only interestingly wrong. Mind if I link it elsewhere (a public site, like this one) for idle pondering by wiser and better informed heads than I? |
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