It’s easy to see where modern scientists get their inspiration from. Apple’s iPad is similar to the touch-screen PADDs featured in Star Trek, while Bluetooth resembles Starfleet’s earpieces. Star Trek’s “communicators” became a reality in the 1998, when Motorola released the first ever flip-phone, “StarTAC”.

Meanwhile, the military is creating Star Wars-like battle droids, and scientists have even attempted to make dinosaurs Jurassic Park style.

Today’s innovators and scientists were yesterday’s generation of wide eyed kids, sitting in front of their TVs and fantasizing about space ships and freeze rays. To a certain extent, this inspiration has fueled the drive for cool and effective modern technology.

However, there comes a point where futuristic, sci-fi technology starts to detract from society rather than add to it. Google has reached that point with its prototype of Terminator-esque glasses.

These glasses perform similar functions as the iPhone. But instead of buzzing in your pocket, notifications pop up in front of your eyes. Wearers will be able to send and receive messages, check into locations, get directions and take pictures using voice-activated controls, all without lifting a finger.

But what do the glasses really do besides limit peripheral vision? Not much. The function of these glasses, although cool, is purely novel. And if widely adapted, the Google glasses could detract from life’s romantic mysteries.

Imagine a world where everything is catalogued. Where it’s impossible to get lost in a city, or even a store. Where you know where your friends are at all time, and when every curious “what’s that?” is met with an immediate, in-your-face (literally) response. Sometimes, you don’t want to know what’s around the next corner. Stumbling into the wrong street or section of a bookstore and finding something unexpected that interests you is part of life. Sometimes, the beauty is in the mystery.

And for those who don’t wear the glasses, chatting with people who are continually talking to themselves and distracted by something only they can see would become the norm. Although they may make us feel like we’re living in the future, the glasses will detract from our ability to live in the present.

Humans aren’t meant to have access to all information at all times. Captain Kirk didn’t wear any techno glasses, and Luke even fought blindfolded from time to time. They used technology, but the technology did not become a part of them.

Technology is useful as a tool, and can be fun as a novelty. But when it becomes so ingrained in our lives that it becomes a part of us, then we’ve lost something much more valuable than a couple minutes of saved time.