Okay, so this is riffing pretty far off any of Lanier's points, but the idea excites me. The idea that computers could break down smells into some kind of basic pattern that could then be reproduced at will by some piece of hardware is tantalizing. I spend way too much time watching cooking shows. I love food. I would really like the added immersion that another sense would bring for such an experience. I think that it would have to be a voluntary addition, and they had better make it pretty hack-resistant, as I would not want to have my smell-printer or whatever it will be called dropping smelly farts into my desk area.
I do think that adding another sense option to our internet consumption habits will happen sooner or later. Smell is the most likely in my opinion, since it makes sense that a few oils would be able to be mixed otgether in various combinations to create a variety of scents, just like a few basic colours are present in an ink catridge to allow us to print pictures accurately. The technology would probably have to start of slow and then pick up. Really, it just needs a killer app, just like every other piece of new hardware before it.
Know what that killer app would be?
BACON.
No comments:
Post a Comment