Analogy

Suppose everybody were wearing those future cyberglasses, and we were hanging out in a room together. Somebody walks into the room to give a presentation.

Each of us can see the presentation from our own point of view, projected onto any wall, or just floating in the air. Or some of us can choose to look down and see it projected onto their desks. It really doesn’t matter.

The presentation, if well designed, will be able to fly about the room, create drama and excitement, enter your personal space, whisper in your ear. You will feel it on a visceral level.

Now compare this to a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation: Click, click. Talk for a while, Click again.

That difference you perceive from PowerPoint to future reality is not new. It’s analagous to the difference that people perceived several decades ago, when the act of writing on overhead transparencies was replaced by computer based presentations.

It’s not clear we got that one right, all those years ago. Maybe we will get it right this time.

2 thoughts on “Analogy”

  1. Everybody wearing magic glasses is going to make lectures interesting. Right now, professors struggle to deal with students zoned out in front of laptops (oh, I’m..uh..taking notes…yeah..taking notes…)

    Future: are the students watching your presentation, or Netflix? Maybe classrooms will insist on glasses with a “paying attention” indicator.

  2. If they are watching Netflix, that’s my fault. It’s my job as the lecturer to make the lecture interesting, not theirs.

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