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• What will come out of this "mystery box?"

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Besides technology, one of my great passions is obsessively following the television sensation LOST. Created by J.J. Abrams in 2004, LOST keeps its audience addicted through its frustratingly compelling narrative that raises as many questions as it answers. The mystery surrounding the show is so compulsively intriguing simply because the mysteries of the show are just barely beyond the audience’s reach, the answers to the deepest secrets of the show withheld, revealed in whispers, slowly unraveled in miniature pieces throughout the show.

While nerdily perusing the LOST wiki, I happened upon a speech given by J.J. Abrams about the role of technology in mystery, which he illustrated through a story about his grandfather who was infatuated with magic tricks. Shortly into his speech about the role of magic and mystery, Abrams set a small wooden box with a large image of a question mark on it upon a small table on one side of the stage. He explained that this was a memento from his grandfather, a mystery box that cost $15 but supposedly contained $50 worth of magic tricks, the buyer just didn’t know which ones.

Abrams never opened the box. The exciting mystery of what could be in the box far outweighs the reality of what is inside it. Abrams ties the speech together explaining that every blank canvas is a mystery box in and of itself, motioning towards his computer on the desk.

That to me is what’s so attractive about computers. Anything that can be imagined can now be easily translated into a movie. Any poem, story, or script keyed into a word document and posted to the web for the world to enjoy. A song that you’ve written can be recorded to an MP3 or posted to YouTube.

The computer is now the new blank canvas, the medium through anyone can put their mystery box on the table and choose whether or not to open it.