Dear Editor,
I read Samuel Gibbs report on the Dyson headphones with built-in air-filter (The Guardian, 30th March 2022, link below) and now I really do know that we have arrived in dystopia ...
All I could think of was the contraption worn (to blank out external stimulus) in the rock opera, "Tommy", and the slot-machines dispensing fresh air in Terry Gilliam's "Brazil". Yes, are we so risk-averse, paranoid and egoistic that we really want to go to this weird place?
The irony is that, under normal circumstances, the exchange of bacteria between humans is a desirable thing (to develop and maintain resistance) and so, the more you "cocoon" yourself (from the world and from reality), the more you need (and want!) to "cocoon".
A further danger is that, once a substantial number of people are supplying themselves with clean air (using masks or filters or other gadgets), then the imperative to clean up the environment (e.g. air pollution) recedes and, instead, people demand "technical protection" ... rather than a solution to the real problem. Great for business but a disaster for the planet.
God help us.
Regards
