Linked in from Instapundit. First an observation:

In a prior life I worked on software emulation of RadialKeretomety for B&L back before lasers took over. I took several trips over to Russia to review their methods in period prior to the wall falling. In the process I got interested in the techniques they used to build the RK diamond knives the doctors used in the process.

I struck up a relationship with the machinist that was making these instruments. He was well into his 60's at the time. Had been doing machining since he was 14. He could turn out the most exquisite tooling you could imagine. Polished, smooth operating, to measurements of .001". All on a lathe he had heavily modified that was originally built in 1896 in the UK!

We made the same instrument but on what was then a $1m CNC station. The only difference was we made 2000 a week for the machinist's 10.

Moral: Watching that man work humbled my then young persona of the supremecy of Western computerized industrilization. It is not necessarily the $$ you put into an effort but the ingenuity that you are able to deliver to the task.

With nanotech, a person or small group of sufficient acumen that can deliver the first small cell of self assemblers will take an enormous lead. And the russians have proved to my satisfaction their ability to think outside the box. Just consider, they stayed ahead of the US in the space race for a while by pulling off tricks nobody in the West thought of using less technology than we did.

Consider it.

Or did you leave off the [sarcasm] tag?