Wearing a Computer Is Good for You | Hacker News Reader

Wearing a Computer Is Good for You

technologyreview.com

16 pointseasy7 comments

It seems to me he is solving the wrong problem.

The problem isn't that we don't know our fitness data, the problem is that we are lazy and don't want to exercise. We might want to want to exercise (a big difference), but we don't want to exercise.

Solve that problem and you will have a ton of money on your hands.

(I know there are some of you out there who loves to exercise or who do it even when they hate it. Please accept that you are very far from the norm and enjoy your good life.)

I actually think this is a very useful idea.

I'm hoping it goes even further. I'd like my toilet to tell me what is wrong with my diet and if I need to go to a doctor when I'm exhibiting warning signs for some illness (I realize this sort of thing is a little too weird to be a commercial success... but it would be useful.)

Also, as the saying goes, what gets measured gets managed. I imagine if you measured your waist size and body fat percentage every morning after waking up, fewer people would pile on the pounds as their lives get busier and more stressful. Being aware of changes in your body will cause you to think twice before going for that extra helping during dinner.

> I realize this sort of thing is a little too weird to be a commercial success

Nothing's ever too weird. Ten years ago, people were afraid to put their real name on the internet. Standards will shift, as long as customer/user privacy is maintained.

> I'd like my toiler to tell me what is wrong with my diet...

Stool analysis has been available on advanced Japanese toilets for quite some time:

http://techcrunch.com/2009/04/01/japanese-toilet-analyzes-st...

You can already get smart toilet seats that measure some things, like this: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-08/27/content_112112....

I see how it is helpful, but not how it is `Good '

If you take the general idea a bit further than glucose-monitoring phone attachments (which already seems fairly good to me if it means people are more likely to have a meter with them and monitor their condition), there's probably a significant number of things you could do with wearable computers that could make a big difference to a lot of people.

How many conditions are there where a few minutes of advance notice, or recorded data about some event, actually makes a huge difference in treatment outcomes? I'd pay a lot for 2 minutes notice of a heart attack and/or an automated 911 call if one happens.

How many people would actually be more likely to "do the right thing" for their health if they can buy a $5 app and/or $50 device to nag them to take their pills, take a break from a stressful situation because their blood pressure is too high, etc.?

A lot of that seems like it would be good to me. (Of course how it gets implemented, how private/secure the system is, and so on are a different story.)

Edit: Maybe you had something different in mind when it comes to classifying something as "good;" if so I'd like to know what you meant.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com