Now Available In Mirrored
Reflecting on the past via the future
Of course they come in a mirrored style
Say what you like about Google Glass, it’s just another step into the future. It may be a misstep, it could be a stumble culminating in a fall, but that fall will happen with forward momentum. The idea of a device, whether worn or cybernetic, that projects information directly into your field of vision has been a staple of the science fiction and cyberpunk novel since Neuromancer. It’s a trope, but there are reasons for that.
Information arrives and we are forced to look at a device. An audible tone or a soft vibration alerts us to new events and we fish around our pockets or belt clips to see what the deal is. Even with high definition screens, beautiful design, and sleek access; we’re trapped holding a thing in a manner that allows us to gaze upon it. If only there were a better way.
There is, but it’s not something we can quite manage yet. It’d be perfect if that information were simply placed within our field of view. You have a new message. You’re going somewhere? Here are a series of virtual arrows guiding you in the right direction. The time is 13:47 and it’s 23 degrees C. Your parent’s anniversary is tomorrow. It’s all right there, in front of you. When it’s right in front of you it’s hard to ignore or forget. Don’t want to miss an appointment? Make sure it’s hovering in your eyesight with a countdown timer. That’s the dream.
And it’s coming true with Google Glass. Sure, people deride it while others praise the innovation it brings. For some it’s stupid and for others it’s amazing. He’s a Glasshole, she’s a Glasstronaut. It’s all relative, but it’s baby steps into what is undoubtedly the future. It’s a future shaped by the past and by the science fiction that so often drives technological innovation.
In the realms of sci-fi, a creator’s mind runs free. Limitations don’t exist save for those the creator places upon their own speculation. If ever you feel sci-fi doesn’t influence technology, take a look at the flip-phones of yesterday compared to Star Trek communicators in the 60s. Speaking of Star Trek, Uhura wore a single ear communicator that looks a hell of a lot like a Bluetooth earpiece. Touchscreens? Got those, but sci-fi was there first. From computer viruses to interplanetary probes, the science fiction writers talked about tech far in advance of it becoming reality.
Within cyberpunk, there are the mirrorshades. Indeed it was the title of a pivotal collection of short stories in the genre. I’ve worn them for years now, especially after landing in Phoenix, Arizona. Sunglasses are a basic necessity and they may as well be mirrored.
Today I read an article from The Verge about a fashion designer’s take on Google Glass, and a smile crept across my face. Yet again, I saw the past in the future and another prediction made real. Of course there will be mirrorshade style Google Glass, it was foretold by science fiction that, all too often, becomes prophecy unto itself.
