Sixth Sense

I had an interesting idea the other day. Mapping software has given us so much in the way of concrete information about where and what things are that there's not terribly much room for mystery or coincidence. This is kind of like something I was saying in Control: if you always choose where you're going, and you know what you'll find when you get there, what mechanism do you have for finding something unexpected? It'd be neat to go the other way and make an app that adds some surprise and intrigue back into your journeys.

Here's how it would work: you're walking along, minding when your own business. Suddenly, your phone buzzes, you look at it and Sixth Sense comes up, nothing but a screen with a pulsing sphere on it. You start walking and the sphere shrinks - no buzz. You turn around, the sphere grows, it buzzes again. You keep following the buzzes, wandering through back alleys, until you suddenly see a giant spray-painted mural on the wall. The app buzzes cheerily and disappears, leaving you alone with the cool street art you just found.

Of course, pulling your phone out and even opening the app at all is optional. You could just leave it in your pocket and let the buzzes guide you as you wander around. In that sense it would be like you had an extra sense that guides you towards interesting and hidden things. A sense of curiosity.