What amplified abilities and superpowers do real people crave today? Noise-cancellation technology to drown out the din of the world so we can concentrate better. The ability to detect free Wi-Fi zones and their bandwidth. A mechanism to turn off the annoying TV at an airport or jam the cell phone signal of a yappy fellow traveler. In a cacophonous

We interact with screens 90 percent of our waking hours. The result is a colder, more isolated, less humane world. Perhaps it is more efficient, but we are less happy.

The information the barometer had to offer could be ascertained with a quick look—it was glanceable. The device was polite, Zen-simple, and never intimidating. The object was dedicated to a single task of information delivery, located in one never-changing place in the house, quietly waiting to do its job. And it did so without the need for updates

GLANCEABLE INFORMATION LEADS TO BEHAVIOR CHANGE

an ability to amplify human abilities.

Mirrors influence our sense of self—and self-consciousness.

What possible services could signs provide besides static labels and directions? What can be done to augment signs so they cease

An augmented mirror, however, with interactive capability, could enable you to see an identity that you are actualizing. A social capacity could let you share this self with others.

Notice how many of these objects are transferable from one person to another. They don’t provide any single person a superpower.