Nanodot readers in the U.S. may be asking, who should I vote for to promote nanotechnology? Good question! Your suggestions are welcome in the comments section.
Meanwhile, see this post by Prof. Robin Hanson (inventor of prediction markets, formerly called idea futures) about a tool that could be used to find out more clearly what is the consensus on such a question: a Presidential Decision Market. Longtime Foresight Senior Associate Peter McCluskey has funded a number of markets to express how the different candidates will effect various issues, from oil prices to government debt.
Nanotech isn’t on the list, yet. Maybe we should get a new market funded specifically on this issue. Those of you who have been with Foresight for a long time will recall that we experimented with an early prediction market quite a while back, under the guidance of Chris Hibbert, who now is working on open source prediction market software called Zocalo. Our enthusiasm for this type of useful social software continues. —Christine
