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Nothing Better than the Real Thing...
Yet!
By Dr. John F. Miller DDS
Sometime around 2006 the powers that be I walked into class to realize, much to the chagrin of at Arizona State University decided that in the three assigned co-professors, that there were only four other students who had also enrolled in this parorder to obtain any Bachelors of Science ticular class with me. Imagine The Breakfast Club, exdegree, a student must complete an upper cept instead of nerd, cheerleader, punk, eccentric, and jock; it was nerd, nerdy, nerdier, nerdiest, ubernerd. This level bridge course. A bridge course is one was ASU, which at 80,000 students had the 2nd largwhich combines two or more academic dis- est student body in the country. So at five students, we ciplines into one course. For example, the were introduced to a level of intimacy that, as nerds, we weren’t quite comfortable with. The Breakfast Club inbridge course I ultimately joined combined deed. Biochemistry, Political Science, and SociolNine years ago, Nanotechnology and the word “Nano” ogy. The official name of the course was were hot. There was nano everything. If you had a product that was small, put “nano” in front of it. Think iPod Nanotechnology and Society. Nano. The literal meaning of nano is one billionth. It I was more than a little annoyed about having to com- is most commonly used to measure both time and displete this course. Undergrad was in the bag and because tance. One billionth of a second or one billionth of a of ASU's +/system I was sitting comfortable with a meter respectively. For curiosity’s sake, fingernails grow GPA north of 4.0. All of my required courses for Den- one nanometer every second. tal School were long since completed and the remaining classes were a formality. I was also juggling my last It became apparent that the reference to Nanotech was year of school with being a stay at home dad. Then this also used to hype this particular course. It was actually bridge course requirement appeared. more focused on Technology and Society, which made
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it a much more interesting and purposeful course. The overall theme was how modern advancements in technology were being integrated into everyday life. More specifically how they were improving and going to improve the quality of life, how they were increasing and going to increase life expectancy, and how they would offer significant advantages to those who had access to them, etc. Now remember, there are three professors…a biochemist, a political scientist, and a sociologist. All of whom reminded us weekly how prestigious and influential they were in their respective fields and how ludicrous it was that we, a mere five students, had intimate access to their collective intellect and academic prowess. Every class and topic had this pattern: The Biochemist introduces emerging or theoretical new tech advancement. The Sociologist then weighs in on said tech’s social implications. Who will have access to it? For those who do have access, will it offer unfair advantages? Following the sociologist’s input, the Political Scientist discusses how the new tech might be regulated by the government. What if this new tech got into the wrong hands? How could it be used by the bad guys? Iron Man 2 anyone?