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One day - not too long from now - you're going to sprain your back. Or twist your ankle. Or get a nasty cold. Or, maybe, just get old. As you painfully shuffle

by edent 4y ago

One day - not too long from now - you're going to sprain your back. Or twist your ankle. Or get a nasty cold. Or, maybe, just get old. As you painfully shuffle towards your TV in order to increase the volume, you'll mutter to yourself "I've never seen a compelling use of remote control technology." Once done, you notice it's getting late. Do you continue sitting in the dark or heave yourself up to reach the lightswitch? You smirk. "I'm glad that I'm not dependent on the whims of some corporation."

seanw444 4y ago
"Progress" and "better" aren't a straight drive down the road of convenience for a lot of us.
themaninthedark 4y ago
One of the things that helps prevent your body failing is using it. If you are injured, they tell you not to favor your injured limb. As we automate these little movements out of our life, are we doing ourselves a disservice by increasing our own body's atrophy? To be clear, I like technology and automation. I want to automate dangerous tasks and things that cause repetitive stain. Maybe things that need improvement, home air filters for example are changed every 3 months. Is that ideal? Or by measuring the current draw from the blower fan you can see when the filter is getting clogged and change it when needed.
- groby_b 4y ago
  Having recovered from several injuries: No, we're not doing ourselves a disservice by increasing our body's atrophy, at least not in this particular case. We're getting a better chance at giving the injured limb a chance to rest. You shouldn't favor your injured limb, but neither should you expose it to unnecessary stress. So if recovery requires parking yourself on the couch, those automations are nice. (Or, alternative, loving friends & family whom you can use to do these things for you :) And as for the uninjured case: If light switches and TVs are the thing that keeps you from atrophying, you have a problem :)
tokamak-teapot 4y ago
I expect to die at approximately 94, all things being average. I also expect that I’ll be bedridden for the last three months, and that I’ll spend most of those three months fighting with technology and cursing its frustrating interfaces, not entirely missing the irony of the fact I spent most of my life avoiding anything IoT. My last words before I die of frostbite will likely be ‘hey google please please switch the heating back on’, to which the reply will be, for the fifty-eighth time, an apology and an offer to give me web search results on ‘swift the heath in baton’

by edent 4y ago

seanw444 4y ago

"Progress" and "better" aren't a straight drive down the road of convenience for a lot of us.

themaninthedark 4y ago

One of the things that helps prevent your body failing is using it. If you are injured, they tell you not to favor your injured limb. As we automate these little movements out of our life, are we doing ourselves a disservice by increasing our own body's atrophy? To be clear, I like technology and automation. I want to automate dangerous tasks and things that cause repetitive stain. Maybe things that need improvement, home air filters for example are changed every 3 months. Is that ideal? Or by measuring the current draw from the blower fan you can see when the filter is getting clogged and change it when needed.

groby_b 4y ago
Having recovered from several injuries: No, we're not doing ourselves a disservice by increasing our body's atrophy, at least not in this particular case. We're getting a better chance at giving the injured limb a chance to rest. You shouldn't favor your injured limb, but neither should you expose it to unnecessary stress. So if recovery requires parking yourself on the couch, those automations are nice. (Or, alternative, loving friends & family whom you can use to do these things for you :) And as for the uninjured case: If light switches and TVs are the thing that keeps you from atrophying, you have a problem :)

tokamak-teapot 4y ago

I expect to die at approximately 94, all things being average. I also expect that I’ll be bedridden for the last three months, and that I’ll spend most of those three months fighting with technology and cursing its frustrating interfaces, not entirely missing the irony of the fact I spent most of my life avoiding anything IoT. My last words before I die of frostbite will likely be ‘hey google please please switch the heating back on’, to which the reply will be, for the fifty-eighth time, an apology and an offer to give me web search results on ‘swift the heath in baton’