Glass Mirror 001: What If?

Glass Mirror is a reimagined take on an academic research journal, for exploratory rabbitholes and speculative deep dives. Our goal at GM is to simplify science for the masses—to make theory & STEM more accessible not just through open distribution channels, but also through more digestible content.

What techno-speculative research means to us is imaginative analyses, analytical fiction, and narrative-driven commentary that allow us to explore unconstrained hypotheses. Not taking an academic approach to research means that we can a) explore fringe formats for research production—whether scifi flash fiction, nanopublication or podcast—and also b) remove the technical constraints of scientific application. Research doesn’t have to be realistic to be catalytic.

In What if, we're asking: What if we are the threat to AI? What if we brought bartering to the internet economy? What if WFH took place in Vision Pros? What if transhumanism was the key to immortality? What if Theranos actually worked? What if superheroes were technically feasible? What if designer babies were an affordable good? What if lucid dreaming is the same as teleportation? What if The Matrix was set in 2024?

Download the prompt book to explore the topics in more detail.

Collect this drop to join the library! We'll keep this journal release at $0 until Aug 1st—when the library officially "opens". After that we’ll set a sliding scale for membership access.

As a member of the Glass Mirror library you can: -> Vote on journal submissions to What if? -> Crowdsource feedback on your WIPs -> Contribute to the public library -> Opt-in feedback from vetted editors (more soon)