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Science Communication
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Tiny Tech, Transcendent Tech

Nanotechnology, Science Fiction, and the Limits of Modern Science Talk

Daniel Patrick Thurs

dpthurs{at}wisc.edu

Images derived from science fiction have been widely used to discuss the emerging science of nanotechnology. Such usage also reflects what it takes to make science noteworthy, interesting, and important. According to journalist Gary Stix, science fiction imagery has helped "to create a fascination with the small that genuine scientists, consciously or not, would later use to draw attention to their work on more mundane but eminently more real projects" (Stix 2001, 36). The vocabulary of sci-fi has ultimately enabled those enthusiastic about nanotechnology to transcend the limits of the popular rhetorical habits put on science and its place in modern culture.

Key Words: nanotechnology • science fiction • rhetoric • popular • technology

Science Communication, Vol. 29, No. 1, 65-95 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1075547007306340
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