[ExI] geezer guard

[Dan TheBookMan]

On Jan 3, 2021, at 11:49 AM, Mike Dougherty via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
> 
>> On Sun, Jan 3, 2021, 11:37 AM spike jones via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>> Ok I viewed the video BillK.  This gets us most of the way there.  The most dangerous time for seniors is in the winter when the sidewalks are icy.  In those times an airbag overcoat would work.  It can have the bags pop up from below, we could even make a cap device with airbags to cushion the head in a fall.
> 
> 
> Surely an engineer (in any sector) is familiar with this adage:
> 
> Are we solving the problem right?
> Are we solving the right problem?
> 
> You could put your favorite geezer in an airbag equipped exoskeleton for a million dollars... or you could dispense $30 worth of salt.  In this case an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of different prevention.
> 
> Also, aren't there in-home fall risks that probably aren't going to be wearing the fancy geezer guard?  Bathrooms are particularly dangerous with wet floors and porcelain or corners.  
> 
> If I have the option, I think abandoning the failing meatsuit for a dalek exosuit might be a good upgrade from the classic brain in a jar.  I expect to be able to go for a virtual run in one of those robodogs, fly in a drone, or dance in an Asimo as needed (or all at the same time)

Well, in that vein — solving the right problem — a less radical approach is solving the problem of how humans get into a state where a minor fall can be life-threatening in the first place. A twenty year old falling the same way doesn’t end up dying within weeks of the fall. Why does an eighty year old? And how — aside from uploading or special exoskeletons — can the eighty year old be stopped from getting into that state? Part of it seems that from twenty on, most people simply go into decline ending up in a frail state where a simple fall can take them out. So, slowing, avoiding, or reversing that decline would seem to be something to think about before investing in exoskeletons.

Then again, no reason not to pursue many strategies here. And I would out all my eggs in the most radical approach. After all, promises of AI, nanotechnology assemblers, cheap fusion, space migration, uploading, etc. have been made over decades and not kept. So better to try many strategies in case the seemingly obvious radical ones don’t pan out before you (rhetorical) have a life-ending hip fracture. (From your comment, it seems you already agree.)

Regards,

Dan
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