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I find it hard to buy into this popular notion that the head isn't designed to look downwards: People have been reading books like this for thousands of years.

by drcode 6y ago

I find it hard to buy into this popular notion that the head isn't designed to look downwards: People have been reading books like this for thousands of years. This version of ergonomics that implies "your neck is going to snap off if you look down" is suspect to me.

justusthane 6y ago
We’ve been looking straight ahead and hunting things for much longer than we’ve been reading books. Looking straight down is definitely poor ergonomics.
- drcode 6y ago
  It seems like a person would have to look down if they are making a flint tool from a rock, or when they are butchering a kill, or when they are gathering berries.
  - enneff 6y ago
    It is well understood that sitting in chairs is a very weird and unnatural thing for the human body. You’re not comparing like things here.
wackro 6y ago
Ever heard of nerd neck?
oftenwrong 6y ago
It's not a matter of design. We can look downwards and work in many positions, yes. However, is it healthy to work this way on a regular basis? I doubt it, but I am open to seeing evidence. I know that for me, it is not a good position; it will cause me back, neck and shoulder pain, and headaches if I work that way. Anecdotally, I know many avid readers that have developed forward head posture and various pains from their habit. I'm not sure people have been reading books flat on a desk or in their lap for thousands of years. After all, literacy was not widespread until relatively recent times. Furthermore, many scholar of the past would read and write on an erect, angled surface when possible: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/medieval-book/using-medieval-book/a/the-medieval-desktop https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/mediev... . Personally, I prefer to do the same when reading for any extended period of time.
eeZah7Ux 6y ago
> People have been reading books like this for thousands of years This does not make it healthy. Besides, it's wrong: very few people had access to books for "thousands of years" and almost always they were kept on a reading stand, both due to the weight and to keep them safe and clean.
ramblerman 6y ago
A simple google image search for "reading book" shows that people read at different angles, from in front of the face, to 45 degrees and indeed straight down on the table, or in the lap. But unlike with this, we can easily shift position and angle with our books.

by drcode 6y ago

justusthane 6y ago

We’ve been looking straight ahead and hunting things for much longer than we’ve been reading books. Looking straight down is definitely poor ergonomics.

drcode 6y ago
It seems like a person would have to look down if they are making a flint tool from a rock, or when they are butchering a kill, or when they are gathering berries.
- enneff 6y ago
  It is well understood that sitting in chairs is a very weird and unnatural thing for the human body. You’re not comparing like things here.

wackro 6y ago

Ever heard of nerd neck?

oftenwrong 6y ago

It's not a matter of design. We can look downwards and work in many positions, yes. However, is it healthy to work this way on a regular basis? I doubt it, but I am open to seeing evidence. I know that for me, it is not a good position; it will cause me back, neck and shoulder pain, and headaches if I work that way. Anecdotally, I know many avid readers that have developed forward head posture and various pains from their habit. I'm not sure people have been reading books flat on a desk or in their lap for thousands of years. After all, literacy was not widespread until relatively recent times. Furthermore, many scholar of the past would read and write on an erect, angled surface when possible: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/medieval-book/using-medieval-book/a/the-medieval-desktop https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/mediev... . Personally, I prefer to do the same when reading for any extended period of time.

eeZah7Ux 6y ago

> People have been reading books like this for thousands of years This does not make it healthy. Besides, it's wrong: very few people had access to books for "thousands of years" and almost always they were kept on a reading stand, both due to the weight and to keep them safe and clean.

ramblerman 6y ago

A simple google image search for "reading book" shows that people read at different angles, from in front of the face, to 45 degrees and indeed straight down on the table, or in the lap. But unlike with this, we can easily shift position and angle with our books.