Tech children see the future

Sir — There is new and exciting 3D technology that is now helping famous people like the late Roy Orbison and the very much alive French politician Jean-Luc Melenchon appear to perform in places that were difficult to do so before, and is opening up exciting possibilities.

The late Roy Orbison is going to magically perform this month in the 3Arena in Dublin while Mr Melenchon has canvassed last year in several places in France, all at the very same time.

Lots of people may think that someone appearing somewhere where they don’t physically exist is a very heartless and empty gesture to make but the possibilities of this new 3D hologram technology can provide us all now with a strange and exciting glass half-full and glass half-empty type of situation.

The glass half-full side of hologram technology is where a child in Ireland may be able to see a Syrian refugee child far away in some camp in Greece, singing and dancing and yet also appearing to do the very same thing in Ireland close to him.

Here the Irish child, I’m inclined to believe, is probably not going to care at all if his new Syrian friend is not really physically present with him in Ireland as long as they can still enjoy each other’s company and talk to each other too.

Such a magical encounter provided from 21st-century technology is like something from the Star Trek sciencefiction television series set in the future 23rd century, in which Captain Picard can seem to beam himself down anywhere on planet Earth.

I do think children, if allowed, can be wiser than adults and appreciate the great potential good that something new can do for the world harmony in this sad time of increasing division! Sean O’Brien, Kilrush, Co Clare

RTE does our thinking for us

Sir — The Ireland episode of the Ant & Dec television show has been shelved by RTE because there are clips of the two drinking.

This is because it appears that Ant has a drink issue which Irish viewers might find “upsetting” and “offensive”, presumably.

Only in Ireland, where alcohol addiction is more of an acceptable consequence and where Diageo tells us tongue-in-cheek to be careful of the stuff (but don’t stop drinking it).

Thanks for minding us so carefully, RTE, and for doing our thinking for us.

We never would have guessed that seeing Ant down an Irish pint would send us all over the edge. Robert Sullivan, Bantry, Co Cork