Everyday Systems: G-Ray Vision

Superman X-rays Lois

So he was strong. So he was fast. So he could fly. The power of Superman's that made the biggest impression on me as a boy had little to do with fighting crime or saving the world - it was his ability to see through Lois Lane's clothes.

These days I'm less envious of the Man of Steel. I realize what an enormous distraction his X-ray vision must have been: With pornography now ubiquitous on the Internet, it sometimes feels like it would take super powers not to see naked flesh all over the place. And so that's just what I imagine I have: G-ray (as in G-rated) vision.

Whatever your feelings about the morality of pornography, it's terribly time consuming. If you're going to put restrictions on how often you check the New York Times website (see anti-bookmarks), this is much lower hanging fruit.

Essentially, all G-Ray vision boils down to is "don't look at porn." But that sounds so repressed and puritanical. Re-casting this restriction as a mock super power makes it positive and fun - and astonishingly easy.

 

By Reinhard Engels

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