Neal Stephenson Joins Magic Leap

OMG. I can think of no stronger endorsement of a technology. take my money NOW

Hrm. I hope he doesn't get distracted from writing books. I love his books, but don't care much about video games. I wonder if he's tired of writing, or just wants to do something different...

That's cool and all, but this has got to be one of the worst company websites I've seen recently. I get that they're stealthy, but this doesn't even build any interest.

It was only until I clicked "Wizards Wanted" (yes, I get it. Magic.) that I sort of got an answer.

Edit: Actually, the Developers section has some more information. But my point still stands.

The hype for me is tempered pretty heavily by what happened to Clang. I'm still very curious what Magic Leap is all about though.

This is notable not just because of Neal Stephenson, but because his blog post contains what I think is the most detailed public description of the tech so far:

--- Here’s where you’re probably expecting the sales pitch about how mind-blowingly awesome the demo was. But it’s a little more interesting than that. Yes, I saw something on that optical table I had never seen before--something that only Magic Leap, as far as I know, is capable of doing. And it was pretty cool. But what fascinated me wasn’t what Magic Leap had done but rather what it was about to start doing.

Magic Leap is mustering an arsenal of techniques--some tried and true, others unbelievably advanced--to produce a synthesized light field that falls upon the retina in the same way as light reflected from real objects in your environment. Depth perception, in this system, isn’t just a trick played on the brain by showing it two slightly different images.

Most of the work to be done is in applied physics, with a sizable dollop of biology--for there’s no way to make this happen without an intimate understanding of how the eye sees, and the brain assembles a three-dimensional model of reality. I’m fascinated by the science, but not qualified to work on it. Where I hope I can be of use is in thinking about what to do with this tech once it is available to the general public. "Chief Futurist" runs the risk of being a disembodied brain on a stick. I took the job on the understanding that I would have the opportunity to get a few things done. ---