When I found him in that usually darkened back corner of the library, I inquired into the relative change in brightness. He exclaimed, "everything seemed important!" while motioning to his ruined textbook and pile of depleted markers.

"Hmm...", I thought out loud rather dramatically, "I think I might have a solution to your problem", and withdrew another highlighter marker from my pocket. This is the HALighter!

The HALighter is an 'intelligent' marker that works on a simple principle. It only releases a small quantity of ink at a time, limiting the amount of highlighting a person can do. This forces the user by necessity to choose their selections more wisely.

The mechanics of this pen are derived from that of ball point pens. Everyone has used a ballpoint pen that develops an air pocket and refuses to write. HALighters are designed to increase the occurrence of these writing disruptions on a regular basis.

Future models of the HALighter will be equipped with a red LED and small speaker that drones "I'm sorry..., I'm afraid I can't do that" to users when a space in their highlighting is odd to see.