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Yes and no. Peleton should redesign the treadmill. It is needlessly hazardous, and a few small changes could easily remedy the problem without compromising the

by donw 6y ago

Yes and no. Peleton should redesign the treadmill. It is needlessly hazardous, and a few small changes could easily remedy the problem without compromising the envelope of functionality for the device. But: I absolutely hate modern appliances with egregious safety buffers, as to reduce their functional envelope down to precisely what the designers imagined, and nothing more. Also, and I realize this is an unpopular stance: Danger is important for children. I'm not suggesting that we need to start giving kids industrial metal saws or machine guns as soon as they can walk, but we do need to stop hiding them from the world. Kids need to learn how to live their lives, and that means getting hurt and learning from it. Our job as engineers is, within the above limits, to try and keep those lessons from being lethal, disfiguring, or crippling.

nate_meurer 6y ago
> Danger is important for children. This is very, very true. I didn't use safety gates on my carpeted stairs when my kids were babies, and they learned to navigate stairs almost as soon as they could walk. I let them use scissors when they were really little too, and by the age of three they were expert little paper crafters. That said, I sure as shit wouldn't let them play around a running treadmill, even if I was in the room.
- donw 6y ago
  Exactly.
- cycomanic 6y ago
  I agree with you, the difference is what are perceivable dangers and what not. The problem about the treadmill is that for a child (and an adult) the treadmill is not immediately dangerous, in particular the danger of being sucked under. Modern playground design is actually taking this into consideration by designing with manageable dangers (climbing up high ladders etc.) but removing things that are not obviously dangerous, like for example gaps where heads can get stuck
- knolax 5y ago
  There's a selection bias here. Parents whose children killed or mutilated themselves as toddlers are too busy or too aggrieved to be posting anecdotes on HN.

by donw 6y ago

nate_meurer 6y ago

> Danger is important for children. This is very, very true. I didn't use safety gates on my carpeted stairs when my kids were babies, and they learned to navigate stairs almost as soon as they could walk. I let them use scissors when they were really little too, and by the age of three they were expert little paper crafters. That said, I sure as shit wouldn't let them play around a running treadmill, even if I was in the room.

donw 6y ago
Exactly.
cycomanic 6y ago
I agree with you, the difference is what are perceivable dangers and what not. The problem about the treadmill is that for a child (and an adult) the treadmill is not immediately dangerous, in particular the danger of being sucked under. Modern playground design is actually taking this into consideration by designing with manageable dangers (climbing up high ladders etc.) but removing things that are not obviously dangerous, like for example gaps where heads can get stuck
knolax 5y ago
There's a selection bias here. Parents whose children killed or mutilated themselves as toddlers are too busy or too aggrieved to be posting anecdotes on HN.