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Age Simulation Suit

(www.age-simulation-suit.com)
206 points throwup238 | 6 comments | 04 Sep 25 16:41 UTC | HN request time: 0.849s | source | bottom
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greyb ◴[04 Sep 25 21:12 UTC] No.45132244[source]▶
From what I recall, there are retirement homes (the examples I'm thinking of are in Asia) that make use of these suits in their onboarding processes, where they need to wear these suits for a few hours to understand some of the challenges their patients experience, and develop empathy when they can't walk as fast or do things that we'd expect in short order.

I would love to see more widespread adoption of these suits in training and employee onboarding in these facilities, mostly because if I'm in that situation or I want to think about a retirement home for my family members, I'd want to see that no one is losing their temper because my mom can't sprint 12km/hr to the elevators for breakfast.

This being said, anecdotally, it seems elder abuse is more the norm, simply because of compassion fatigue, so I suspect that even in however many years time, I'll be punched by a PSW for no good reason.

replies(2): >>45135518 #>>45139559 #
1. sniffers ◴[05 Sep 25 06:24 UTC] No.45135518[source]▶
Doing this is probably a net good but also a bit risky. It creates the impression that there's one experience we all go through as we decline, when in reality it's pretty wildly different. It's helpful to build some empathy, but also a limited understanding.

For instance, these suits might restrict movement but they don't simulate hip or knee pain. They don't simulate shortness of breath, etc. It certainly doesn't induce cognitive impairment or anxiety. A young healthy person might wear one of these and go, "it's not soooooo bad.... I could do it why can't they".

replies(2): >>45136228 #>>45136553 #
2. squigz ◴[05 Sep 25 08:18 UTC] No.45136228[source]▶
Limited understanding is far better than no understanding.
replies(1): >>45138627 #
3. ywxdcgnz ◴[05 Sep 25 09:12 UTC] No.45136553[source]▶
Ha, you haven't seen the add-on upgrade list:

Knee pain simulator simulating knee problems (1 pair of knee wraps with build-in stimulus elements, incl. bag) 200,00

Kyphosis simulator simulating a hunchback (1 hip belt, 1 neck strap and 1 walking stick, incl. bag) 190,00

COPD simulator simulating shortness of breath (1 rib bandage and 1 adjustable nose clip, incl. cleaning set and bag) 170,00

Tremor simulator simulating trembling hands (2 pairs of gloves in 2 sizes and 1 control unit, incl. bag) 160,00

Tinnitus simulator simulating ringing in the ears (8 tinnitus sounds as MP3 files, free download as part of an order) 0,00

Simulation glasses simulating 6 eye diseases (6 different pairs of glasses in a box) 230,00

Hemiparesis simulator simulating a unilateral paralysis (set of 7 matched components, incl. bag) 390,00

Back pain simulator simulating back problems (set of 2 simulators in 2 sizes, incl. bag) 490,00

And my brain hurts just reading this at no extra cost. I'm going out for a walk now, take a deep breath, soak it all in and enjoy it while it lasts...

https://www.age-simulation-suit.com/download/Price_list.pdf

replies(1): >>45140811 #
4. sniffers ◴[05 Sep 25 13:54 UTC] No.45138627[source]▶
The post I made laid out several reasons why that might not be the case or at least is not axiomatic.
replies(1): >>45142068 #
5. GuB-42 ◴[05 Sep 25 16:59 UTC] No.45140811[source]▶
This is starting to look like a BDSM shop, but without the fun.

Compared to the suit, this is next level. Limiting your senses and movement can help you design an environment that the elderly find useable, kind of like screen filters that simulate color blindness. But actually causing pain goes beyond these practical considerations.

6. squigz ◴[05 Sep 25 18:39 UTC] No.45142068{3}[source]▶
I must have missed that? You seem to point out that 1) getting old is different for all of us, and 2) that this doesn't simulate every single facet of old age. I don't see how this takes away from the benefits of establishing at least some understanding of old age.