Ralph Merkle
Ralph Merkle
Ralph C. Merkleis a computer scientist. He is one of the inventors of public key cryptography, the inventor of cryptographic hashing, and more recently a researcher and speaker of cryonics...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth2 February 1952
CountryUnited States of America
planets limitation
We see an entire planet which has many limitations.
firsts wealthy approximation
We are looking at a future where to a first approximation, everyone is wealthy.
technology suffering benefits
The new technologies that we see coming will have major benefits that will greatly alleviate human suffering.
confidence air stronger
One of the things that we can say with confidence is that we will have much lighter, much stronger materials, and this will reduce the cost of air flight, and the cost of rockets.
balance able revolution
As in any technological revolution, there will be winners and losers. On balance, everyone will come out ahead, although there will be particular companies that will not be able to cope with a new environment.
acceptance self aquariums
One of the concepts essential to molecular manufacturing is that of a self-replicating manufacturing system. That concept has lagged behind in its acceptance.
agriculture limits acres
Because of technological limits, there is a certain amount of food that we can produce per acre. If we were to have intensive greenhouse agriculture, we could have much higher production.
happy-life careers healthy
If you look at the human condition today, not everyone is well fed, has access to good medical care, or the physical basics that provide for a healthy and a happy life.
people today serious
Today we see a human population of over 6 billion people, many of whom have serious medical conditions, which either can't be treated or cannot be treated economically.
giants needs machines
Manufacturing takes place in very large facilities. If you want to build a computer chip, you need a giant semiconductor fabrication facility. But nature can grow complex molecular machines using nothing more than a plant.
yield looks acres
It looks as though yields of over 10 times what we can currently grow per acre are feasible if you control the CO2 concentration, the humidity, the temperature, all the various factors that plants depend on to grow rapidly.
machines environment function
Machines built by human beings they will function correctly if we provide them with a very specific environment. But if that environment is changed, they won't function at all.
attempt describe known laws physics possible predict within
We don't attempt to predict what will happen. We can describe what is possible within the laws of known physics. Physics is well understood.
afford primary question rather valuable
The primary question shifts to, what do we want? What is it that we find valuable intrinsically rather than what is it that we can afford to make?