Ponder the Preposterous

I went for a walk yesterday. Whoa! The world is in 3D!

I don't entirely get it, all this excitement about 3D technology. 3D movies, 3D television, 3D apps for mobiles. OK, they're fun, OK I get that part.

Then we have to take into account the potential eye/brain damage to children (and maybe adults). The technology isn't old enough yet to do a thorough study on all the side-effects.

Today there's news of one more 3D technology, a 3D viewer for mobiles. Yeehaw, snap that mobile into the viewer and see your 3D apps in real 3D.WTF, it's only a viewer. No interactivity. Well, except for maybe some whiplash, moving it up and down and around in front of our face to change views in the 3D phone apps.

Really, it's only good for artificially seeing 3D worlds that are technology-created. Twice-removed 3D-ness.

When I was a kid we had these 3D "viewmasters".

I admit, they were pretty exciting for us kids. But adults? They'd have a look, do the oooh and ahhh for a minute or two, and that was it. They were probably thinking, Ya, when I was a kid we had these "stereoscopes", and they were pretty exciting for us kids. But adults? I'm thinking about this need for 3D Everything. It's like we've come full circle.... first we had the 3D world to look at, all around us. Then we began spending all our time looking at 2D devices -- books, comics, then TVs, then computer screens, then mobile screens, tablets..... Now suddenly there's a big craving for 3D imagery.

Hey everybody, is your soul missing looking at the big-ol' 3D world out there? Drop your devices and go for a walk, a run, a drive. You'll be amazed at how realistic it all looks out there! An amazing world, all in 3D!