These are my travel eyes

Pawel Halicki

Aug 10, 2024

- I didn’t know you had asthma.

- I don’t. This is my jet lag inhaler, and these here…

She reaches into a side pocket of her trolley bag, unzips it and takes out a hard blue case.

- These are my travel eyes.

Removing her glasses, she opens the lens case and pulls out an integrated atomiser.

- One, two, three.

She sprays each contact lens and puts them on using an oblong inserter. Still blinking to adjust the contacts, she puts her glasses back on.

- It looks quite complicated.

- Only the first time you do it. Those bad boys can filter or block light and secrete electrolytes. With some light painkillers and sedatives from the inhaler, it’s a perfect combo that maxes my chances of keeping my sleep pattern or switching to a new one.

She shakes the matt black inhaler and puffs in two doses.

- And they have a lot of great integrations with bottle dramas and games if you’re into generative entertainment.

- What else can they make you need once you buy an unbreakable smart water bottle? I don’t need new episodes to stay hydrated, but you sound like you know your stuff.

- Well, my jet lag routine won’t ever be as effective as flying business, but the agency policy allows accepting business class tickets only for flights over eight hours. Can you imagine? This route used to take a comfy eight hours twenty minutes, but changing wind patterns, new fuselages and engine efficiency shortened it over the years to seven hours forty.

- Yeah, that totally sucks, given our conference schedule this year. Maybe they will update the policy based on flight types instead of their duration. You know, some ideas can come to you only in business class.

- Until the agency policy catches up, I’m trying whatever I can. A while ago, my project went sideways, and I was forced to hop on two continental flights east, catching a 14-hour time difference in under 48 hours.

- Sounds serious.

- Never again. For a week, I was waking up like I had never slept. If not for the miracle of caffeine, I’m not sure how I would have survived that month.

She stirs the red coffee cup and takes the final sip of the long-cooled remains of her long black.

- Lenses also let you skip the moronic look of wearing an eye mask.

- That can be an important factor in our industry.

- Hmm.

- Which seat you’re in?

- 31 A.

- Window seat entertainment! Excellent! Did you upgrade to mixed-reality mapping?

She points both index fingers at her glasses and smiles widely.

- Abso-freakin-lutely. I’m a sucker for space operas and can’t wait for this flight.

- What have you mapped to your seat?

- “Titan Alliance: attack from Lagrange points”. The whole battle outside my window for the entire flight.

- Classic. Don’t you take your glasses off for sleep?

- No, and that’s why hydrated eyes are key to flying with AR filters. There’s one thing I love about waking up on a plane with filters on. For a brief moment, before your consciousness fully kicks in, you feel like you’re on a spaceship in the middle of an epic galaxy conflict. What about you? Any plans for the flight?

- I’ll try to tune up my talk, but later, I will try to finish this book on brain-machine interfaces.

- Haha, that’s one of the most relaxing topics I heard about this week.

Her joke gets ignored.

- Don’t you think that brain-machine interface is the de facto end of leisure-based travel? Why bother risking moving your real body if you can connect to something which is already there and have the very same or even better experience?

- Great entertainment may be why we will never meet any advanced civilisations. Maybe at some point in progress, every civilisation stops exploring the universe and gets lost in virtual worlds?

- I hope that curiosity will win.

- If you’re such an advocate of curiosity, why not try travel eyes? You can still get yours before we start boarding.

When her colleague finishes his macchiato, she points in the right direction.

- The contacts machine is just around that corner store.

- OK. Let me give it a try. Can I leave my luggage with you?

- Yeah, I’ll keep an eye on it.

Hello Practical Futurists,

Welcome back from the future, where eyecare is the new skincare and with a small upgrade, plane travel can feel like an epic adventure.

Let's jump into our weekly workout, where we use futures thinking and product sci-fi to improve your strategic imagination and prepare your leadership for the future.

You can think of this quote as an extra inspiration.

“It is better to be surprised by a simulation, rather than blindsided by reality.”

Stuart Candy

As always, we begin by grounding the story in your personal life to make it more relatable.

Professional life reflection prompts

In your opinion, what two things take too long and what two always end too soon?
Which 2 of your routines would get more satisfying if integrated with a dedicated generative entertainment unlocked by your progress or consistency?
If you could map a virtual experience on top of a real experience, for example, looking through a plane window to observe space battles, which 2 combinations would you try first?
What was the last book, film or game experience so immersive that you didn’t want it to end? For me, it was “Scavengers Reign”, a meticulously detailed animated sci-fi masterpiece that looks and feels like nothing else you will see this year. Twelve 20-minute episodes are far too short for such an immersive piece of storytelling.
In what two ways being more intentionally curious could contribute to your personal development?

You made it look easy!

We’re now ready to work within the context of the industry, organisation, team, service, or product you’re working with.

Professional life reflection prompts

Anticipating the impact of emerging technologies, should organisations leave wiggle room in strategic planning or rather focus on what’s already working today?
Which 2 tactics can you use to optimise or help influence organisational policies to make them more flexible for the changing environment while remaining supportive for the team?
What market research data would you need to formulate a business hypothesis and estimate the opportunity smart eyewear presents for your industry?
As a leader, which 2 metrics would you rely on to better balance the excitement of new technologies with your team’s practical needs?
Name 2 situations in which speed doesn’t equal competitive advantage in your industry.
What are the 3 things incompatible with maintaining a culture of continuous learning and exploration, and how can you spot them?
If given the task of leading a pilot exploring potential operational efficiencies of augmented reality for your organisation, what would be your first 3 goals, and who would you pick for your team?