Is it normal to be excited about near-future augmented reality products?

I'm a complete technophile but I worry about this. People are essentially lazy and will only do what they need to. Prior to calculators, people had to learn to add up. Now you don't need to. Spell-checkers are making people's spelling worse, not better.

"Augmented" is supposed to mean bigger or better but what it's actually saying in this context is that it's taking away some of our need to know things. In a world when you don't need to know or learn anything, how will we ever judge the broader picture? You need to have lots of facts at once to form solid judgements.

Part of this is self-serving because I like knowing things that most people don't know. Like how Namibia's capital city changes depending on the month. Windhoek is the capital in winter and Swakopmund in summer (it's coastal and cooler). I like that I know this whether I'm connected to the internet or not. When I think about Africa in general, I think of how Swakopmund is a German word (the Germans aren't that well-known in their conquest of Africa, comparatively anyway). Then I think about other European nations and their history with Africa. The French in the north and west, the Dutch in the south, the Belgians in the middle, the Italians in the East, and the English in what's left (oh, and Portugal in Mozambique). Then I think about how it changed historically; about the Gold Coast, Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Bechuanaland, the USA, and Zaire. Then I think how interesting it is that there was a country in Africa called the USA and I'm writing a post here commenting on it now.

It's only possible because the knowledge is pre-loaded into my head and I can do a bit of skipping around.

Or am I being harsh? Is AR merely slower skipping but to a much wider array of knowledge? I really don't know but I'm typically dubious of anything that absolves us of the responsibility of doing something good (i.e. learning).

I'm excited by the prospect but, as ever, a bit bothered that we'll further limit ourselves. An attention span has gone the way of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Will "knowledge" be next?

Nooo!!!! God damn it! Where is my brachiosaurus?!?! I'm outta here!!

Google Glasses look so cool. You guys have to watch the youtube video they have of someone showing it's capabilities. I am definitely buying a pair in a few years when they go on the market. Expensive, yes. But WORTH IT!! ..To me. :)

I will break it all

Hmm

2020!!!!

Maybe our minds are going to come together.