But every new technology has its rough edges, and somehow we muddle through. Someday we will boggle our grandchildren’s minds with tales of life before AR—if we can remember their names.

This article was originally published with the title How to See the Invisible.

5 Comments

1. 1. k6dgw 04:56 PM 11/18/11

   Thank you David!!! With no color vision, I've spent my life asking others ... wife, friends, salespeople, and [gasp!] other customers ... the color of the shirt I'm holding. Reading TechnoFiles, I immediately downloaded ColorID to my Android and now I can join the 90% of other people holding their phones while they shop, only mine tells me the answer to my continual question, "What color is this." Thanks a bunch.

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2. 2. candide 10:30 AM 12/8/11

   A current iPad 2 is about equivalent in processing power to the worlds most powerful computer in 1985, the Cray 2.
   
   In 1985 nobody would have dared contemplate that a Cray 2 could be the size of a stack of paper and would run 10 hours on batteries.
   
   The same way now we cannot accurately predict 25 years from now. The interesting part, to me, is how predictions, except for flying cars, have been short or less than the reality.

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3. 3. BillR 10:55 AM 12/8/11

   Pretty soon we will have the phone screen imbedded in our glasses or contacts and we will not need to hold the "phone" out at arms length. The phone will probably be imbedded in the earpiece which will be tiny and the contacts will be an enhanced bluetooth device. The cheap phones will look like glasses with everything embedded in the frames.

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4. 4. jtdwyer in reply to candide 03:33 PM 12/8/11

   Nearly all of the most impactful technological developments over the past 50+ years are based on very specific discoveries in quantum physics and resulting developments in electronics. Fortunately, we're not only waiting for flying cars but also artificial intelligence - always 'just around the corner'.
   
   Unfortunately, the pace of these new developments' impact of humanity and society are increasing at a accelerating rate while critical ancient infrastructure is left to disintegrate, unable to support ever increasing populations. Not to promote autocratic central planning, but surely there are critical issues that must be considered other than gee-whiz market potential and short term profits...

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5. 5. kyle stanley 09:55 AM 12/9/11

   I agree... wearable and or implanted systems are the next step most likely using subliminal prompts which means you will still need to learn however data retrieval is much quicker.
   

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