I’m a gadget guy. I loved my first Palm Pilot so much I bought it four times: once new, and each of the three times I accidentally left it in the seat pocket of my last flight. Those of you who go back a few years with this blog know of my adoration for the HP-12C, and the Tassimo. I also had a fleeting affair with the Kindle, which I left for a younger iPad. And I sleep with my smart phone on my bedside table, despite dire warnings to resist.
So, I feel comfortable with my gadget "bona feedays."
But I say all this as preamble to my new found, profound fear and loathing of Google Glass, and in particular, Google glasses.
My fear comes from the sure knowledge that once placed on the bridge of my nose they will never come off. In other words, after I've experienced augmented-reality then I'm afraid reality will seem lacking. That is a terribly depressing thought, since I have gotten to mostly understand and kind of like reality. I am able, after all, to find a head of lettuce in a grocery store without little red arrows and coupons appearing before my eyes--just like I could once find my way with a paper map. Yet I know, if the GPS isn’t on (even between home and work) it feels like a black hole in the middle of my dashboard. Google glasses will place that black hole in the middle of my reality.
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| The nice thing about Google glasses is they also make us beautiful. No extra charge. |
My loathing comes from the price of Google glasses. Not that price--I’m sure they’ll be affordable, probably even free. It’s the price of having my brain and emotions placed in the feeding trough of global advertisers. Did I look at the Colgate and then the Crest? For how long? Which did I choose? They can fix that.
Just imagine Google and P&G and the Chinese military crawling around inside your head all day. Just imagine your life last May 28th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. being subpoenaed for a court case. All I can picture is Malcolm McDowell with toothpicks propping his eyes open and being made to feel nauseous whenever Beethoven plays. I do not want that happening to me or my droogs. As it is, once I post this online I’m going to start getting ads on gmail for toothpaste.
I have never, ever understood people who go without TVs, computers, or smart phones. I have never had much sympathy for Luddites. But that may change. As long as technology was rummaging around in my bookshelves, music collection and kitchen cabinets, I was ok; once it gets into my frontal lobe, it might be time to resist.
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