If you’ve had a problem getting your head around what Google Glass is, you’re in luck if you are a Star Trek fan. We mean the original series, of course, which started way back in 1966. Most of us already know that Star Trek was ahead of its time but we were shocked to see the similarities between that ‘old’ TV show and the brand new Google Glass. Take a tour of Google Glass through the eyes of Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock.

Two episodes of Star Trek are all we need to set the first scene here. In “The Menagerie”, a two-part episode from November 1966, and again in “Court Martial” from February 1967, we are shown videos of several events that occurred on the Enterprise. These videos are used in courtroom situations in attempts to prove guilt or innocence. Since there are no visible video recorders, we can only assume that the ship’s computers  recorders made these videos, theoretically capturing every hour of life aboard the Enterprise, not just the Kodak moments. 

Enter Google Glass and its ability to record every detail of your life, both the mundane ones and the extra-special ones, for as much or as little time as the wearer decides he or she wants. There have been reports of some wearers feeling a need to record everything for posterity. As with the Star Trek episodes, we’re sure you can see the importance of recordings such as this in similar courtroom situations.

Next up is Spock’s Tricorder. In almost every episode of Star Trek, Mr. Spock is seen intently staring at the tiny screen of the Tricorder that he carries with him. Kirk and the crew members of the landing party seem paralyzed until Spock checks things out with his Tricorder. This advanced bit of technology can identify just about anything that Spock points it towards. He is able to tell how old a structure is, if it’s real or an apparition; virtually everything about anything. Kirk and crew depend on the Tricorder far more than their own intuition. In many episodes, the Tricorder is the key to solving whatever dramatic situation they encounter. Do you see a similarity here? …starts with a G?

Googling something is how we have created our very own Tricorder when we’re using a computer. With Google Glass we will be carrying that computer with us. Looking at something will link the wearer up to Google Image Search and, suddenly, all the details of whatever is within sight are known. Maps, directions, histories, recipes, reviews; it will all be there, just as it was for Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise.

When Kirk or Spock have a problem to solve, they turn to the ship’s computers. With reasonably broad instructions, the female-voiced computer can predict patterns, solve complicated scientific problems and so on. When the crew encounters a problem on a foreign planet, they use the ship’s computers to help them figure out a solution. In many episodes, the lack of access to that computer is the source of the drama.

With Google Glass, everyone will be able to solve problems just about as well as the crew of the Enterprise. We can see situations in classrooms around the world where Google Glass could possibly replace human instruction, certainly for the sciences. With a heads-up display on one eye and a fetal pig in front of the other, we think dissections will suddenly become a whole lot easier…but no less yucky. Math, physics, chemistry; well, the possibilities are endless, aren’t they. Asking a question with your voice alone will make our streets and public places just a bit more interesting, too.

How important are the various gadgets to the crew of the Enterprise? It seems they are so vitally important that one whole episode, “Arena”, is based on Kirk’s inability to access any of it, creating enormous tension and suspense until he finally defeats the Gorn using plain old brain power. Well, right now, we’re with Kirk and the Gorn, using our brain power in every life situation we experience…unless we’re linked to our various bits and pieces of technology. Once Google Glass becomes affordable for the masses, we’ll all be as smart as Spock and his Tricorder!

We’ve had some fun with this post but we’re quite serious when we say that Google Glass, given the correct pricing structure, could possibly become as important to the modern wearer as the Tricorder and all of the Enterprise’s computers were to Captain Kirk and his crew. Let’s just hope there aren’t too many Gorn episodes in our futures.

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