Filtering Reality....Seriously??

Let me first say that though I do appreciate the imaginative leap that Mr. Cascio takes in writing his piece, the notion that new technology that will allow us to block out whatever we don't want to see in our world is simply ridiculous. Let me also say that I recognize the fact that he seems to also think this technology would be absurd. Let me also say, Mr. Cascio, thank you for saying that something that doesn't exist yet (and probably won't exist) is stupid, when anyone can tell it is stupid, which is why it won't ever exist. (Is this the kind of article the Atlantic Monthly publishes on a regular basis??)

The idea that we can simply use technology to filter out whatever we don't like or whatever we don't agree with in our world is simply ridiculous. And that is because we don't need any type of technology to do this. Human beings are psychologically hardwired for apathy, and to marginalize other ideas that we find distasteful or threatening with our thinking processes. For example, the girlfriend who refuses to accept that her boyfriend is cheating on her, the naive student who thinks all he/she needs to do is graduate in order to be successful, or the idiots in Texas who said "Global Warming is a LIE!" I rest my case.

We as a society don't need technology to filter our world, we do it all the time already. Having a app on your smart phone to recognize someone's face is stupid. If you don't recognize them, its because you don't know them well enough. Either start a conversation, or ignore them. The idea that this IMAGINARY technology will lead to even greater political polarization of our country is, well its an overreaction. Actually, I think these devices will lead us to the Third World War!

If in writing this article, Mr. Cascio meant to bring our attention to the way that our Current technology drives ignorance in our society, then I will respect him once again. Media are defined as methods by which we recieve information about our world. As if living in the 21st century one is not already constantly bombarded by information over the internet, radio, television, and through our cellphones, this article speaks of sunglasses that could filter out or filter through even more advertising and information to our already overwhelmed minds. I hope there is no one who thinks this sort of technology is a good idea.

The whole point of technology is that it is supposed to IMPROVE our lives, not fill them with even more problems. The idea of a technology that will promote even more ignorance and bigotry is an attractive one, I admit, but I would hope that the R&D department at Sony has read this article and by doing so have been forewarned and forearmed by the dangers of this technology.

So in closing, thank you once again Mr. Jamais Cuscio for providing us with this imaginative, imaginary technological dystopia that will never take place. It was a great starter for this blog.