h a l f b a k e r yThe leaning tower of Piezo
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random
news, help, about, links, report a problem
browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
register,
|
|
|
Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register.
Please log in or create an account.
|
Initially I envisaged the idea of either scaling up toddler
mobility aids for the elderly or scaling down elderly
mobility aids for toddlers, but this wouldn't work
because it would be perceived as belittling.
Apparently in one's dotage, one tends to focus on one's
thirties as the prime of
life in the sense that one's
memories tend to be centred on that period. If able-
bodied people in their thirties were to spend a couple of
years using walking frames, mobility scooters, hoists and
wheelchairs, and perhaps incontinence pads and the
like, and these were somehow styled in a cool and
trendy manner, they could then be replicated exactly
when mobility became a real problem, which would then
create nostalgia and one would also be used to them
because memory would come back. They would also be
less associated with the idea of getting old.
Additionally, disabled access would receive more
attention if the people with the most clout were actually
having to emulate the physically disabled, who are
disadvantaged with respect to advocacy.
One slight problem with this is that actually using
mobility aids when one is in one's prime would probably
lead to disability after a while. This could be addressed
by doing things like making wheelchair wheels really
stiff, using a heavy metal to make a walking frame, or
by compensating with extra exercise at other times.
[link]
|
|
//One slight problem with this is that actually using
mobility aids when one is in one's prime would probably
lead to disability after a while.// |
|
|
I can attest to that, a few years ago, while doing ninja
high-kicks in the kitchen, I pulled a ligament in my knee
making it prone to spasm and collapse at unhelpful
moments. So as not to upset anyone on the
train/tube/walk to work, with an unexpected tumble, I
took up a walking stick and hobbled about for nearly a
year. It was quite fun to begin with, people offered me
their seat on public transport, and I was once saluted
having been taken for some kind of veteran. After going
to physio after lots of nagging, it turned out that not
using that leg had caused the muscles to wither quite
substantially. |
|
|
After a few rounds of physio I stopped using the stick and
just started walking very deliberately - and now it's pretty
much back to normal. So yes, interesting to try out, as I
experienced a very different commute for those few
months, but watching out for that last set of issues. |
|
|
Glad you're on the mend, [zen_tom]. This is the
biggest problem I anticipate, and it would need to be
balanced somehow. |
|
|
I'm loving the concept, as more and more of my high
school friends suffer with arthritis and other chronic
diseases. And I really liked your last paragraph
because that would be the first concern. "Use it or
lose it" is so very true. So +, my friend. |
|
|
Thanks [blissmiss]. It's sad to care for someone who's
lived by that dictum and literally can't use it any
more, so he is knowingly losing it. |
|
| |