zeazide

I've seen this thing posted off and on for some years now, these "acupressure" (spiky) mats, they're like little cushions with dozens of kind of sharp (but not too sharp and usually plastic) "spikes" clusters on them, and people lay on them or push them in to their skin.

It seems to create a painful sensation, like stepping on a LEGO toy, but surprisingly then creates a feeling of release when you adapt to it or remove yourself from the tension. It reminds me of the idea of cold showers that can feel kind of uncomfortable but then have supposed benefits, or how weightlifting destroys people's muscles but then the muscles grow back stronger.

Here's a 3d print design for these acupressure "rosettes": https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3619377

Anyone tried these or have any thought on them?

(edit: wanted to add that I find these to be an interesting possible religious kind of "mortification", like flagellation was up to medieval times... I think that practice was abused so was discouraged and mostly abandoned)

Main link - https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2023/12/thematic-book-series-heating-people-not-spaces/

Restoring the Old Way of Warming: Heating People, not Spaces https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/02/restoring-the-old-way-of-warming-heating-people-not-places/

Insulation: First the Body, then the Home https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/02/insulation-first-the-body-then-the-home/

The Revenge of the Hot Water Bottle (Personal Note: Contains an immodest ad) https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2022/01/the-revenge-of-the-hot-water-bottle/

Energy Labels Oblige Frugal Homeowners to Make Unsustainable Investments https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2018/01/energielabels-verplichten-zuinige-woning-bezitters-tot-nutteloze-investeringen/

How to Keep Warm in a Cool House https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/03/how-to-keep-warm-in-a-cool-house/

Sunbathing in the Living Room: Tile Stoves and Other Radiant Heating Systems https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/12/sunbathing-in-the-living-room-oven-stoves-and-heat-walls/

Heat Storage Hypocausts: Air Heating in the Middle Ages https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2017/03/heat-storage-hypocausts-air-heating-in-the-middle-ages/

The Revenge of the Circulating Fan https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2014/09/circulating-fans-air-conditioning.html

Farming is apparently one of the most dangerous professions.

What are the sources of danger?

https://www.ufkeslaw.com/blog/2019/august/the-7-most-common-farming-accidents/

1. Overturning tractors and heavy machinery.

2. Falls.

3. Toxic chemical exposure to pesticides.

4. Suffocation.

5. Heat Stress.

6. Limbs crushed in agricultural machinery.

7. Animal-related injuries

https://nasdonline.org/1241/d001045/a-review-of-farm-accident-data-sources-and.html

Most traumatic injuries occur during interactions with machinery, especially tractors (Bean, 1991). Injuries also result from poor building design, electric power, livestock handling, and weather conditions. The activities that victims were most often performing when injured are machinery maintenance, fieldwork, and caring for animals

Tractor Rollover Protection

So I've seen one issue is tractors rolling over, and they have rollover protection designs that can be retrofitted on old tractors. Maybe some farmers, having thin profit margins, have skimped on buying the new safety designs, so they continue to operate tractors that can rollover and be a danger. But that seems like one solution to fixing the problem of most deaths.

Animals Versus Tractors

So interacting with animals is high on the list of what causes harm, as well as tractors. Presumably in order to prevent some animal harms (like with horses), tractors were thought to be able to be used. I guess what I'm getting at here is, would it be safer to use horses instead of tractors, or tractors (with rollover protection) instead of horses?

Cutting Technology Out

Roughly half of the issues in the first list are technology related: tractors and heavy machinery, toxic pesticide exposure. Again, would it be possible to trade off some productivity and to make farming more labor intensive, to gain some safety?

High Technology Solutions Instead

On the other side of the spectrum, I guess "autonomous tractors" or remote controlled ones come to mind, that couldn't flip over, and maybe robots could be used to interact with animals to prevent dangerous animal interactions. I suppose in starting to write this I assumed the low tech direction would be more viable, but does farming need a "high tech revolution" instead to become safer? More programming of farming-related robotics, and less dangerous manual interactions?

Conclusion

I'm curious if anyone has thoughts on how to improve the safety of farming today, with possibly making trade-offs of less or more technology for less yields, or if a lot of the dangers might be mitigated in other ways.

I can't find too much info on this online, but I stumbled upon it as related to "distributism"; seems to have been a movement sparked by opposition to industrialism in the 1800s, by Catholics, who wanted to preserve a more agrarian way of life. It has been revived in recent years, or there is an attempt to create a "Neo-Catholic Land Movement", as mentioned on sites like catholiclandmovement.info.

The Industrial Revolution initially created a lot of instability in society and the papal encyclical "Rerum Novarum" was issued partially in response to it. Even into much of the 20th century, agriculture was a big part of the economy in the U.S., but now in the 21st century life has changed more dramatically, which has created further moral problems.

There was a book published called something like "The Catholic Land Movement's Founding Papers" with a collection by some recognized authors like Hilaire Belloc, and a reprint of said book in more recent years called "Flee to the Fields". I can't find much of these contents online but maybe I could cobble them together if requested (I can obtain access to "Flee" book).

I do see this online which may offer a sketch of the idea:

"The Catholic Land Movement: Its Motives" by Fr. Vincent Mcnabb, O.P., S.T.M, Foreword by G. K. Chesterton (early 20th century?)

https://www.ecatholic2000.com/cts/untitled-495.shtml

In my view a "CL movement" would simply be sharing practical homesteading skills, as many secular sites probably already do, but would also argue for how the agrarian way of life might be conducive to living a sound moral life, from a Catholic standpoint.

"On Rural Life" by Pope Pius XII (1946)

https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius12/poprural.htm

It's good this time of year to give thanks for farms and food and the "fruits of harvest", and to reflect on their importance and impact on our way of life today.

Note: I don't necessarily agree with the author's writings, but I find the "low technology" approach fascinating and indeed practical in certain circumstances, and certainly worth discussion.

Link About Book (and then individual links are to a good chunk of the contents): https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2023/10/thematic-book-series-how-to-downsize-a-transport-network/

How to Downsize a Transport Network: the Chinese Wheelbarrow https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/12/how-to-downsize-a-transport-network-the-chinese-wheelbarrow/

The Citroën 2CV: Cleantech from the 1940s https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/06/the-citroen-2cv-cleantech-from-the-1940s/

The Status Quo of Electric Cars: Better Batteries, Same Range https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/05/the-status-quo-of-electric-cars-better-batteries-same-range

Electric Velomobiles: as Fast and Comfortable as Automobiles, but 80 times more Efficient https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2012/10/electric-velomobiles-as-fast-and-comfortable-as-automobiles-but-80-times-more-efficient/

Get Wired again: Trolleybuses and Trolleytrucks https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2009/07/get-wired-again-trolleybuses-and-trolleytrucks/

High Speed Trains are Killing the European Railway Network https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2013/12/high-speed-trains-are-killing-the-european-railway-network

Life Without Airplanes: from London to New York in 3 Days and 12 Hours https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/06/life-without-airplanes-from-london-to-new-york-in-3-days-and-12-hours/

How to Design a Sailing Ship for the 21st Century? https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/05/how-to-design-a-sailing-ship-for-the-21st-century

(posted for discussion, not necessarily in agreement with author)

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2023/08/thematic-books-series/

Links to articles used in book (not linked on the site, presumably this is the book's contents):

...

Why we need a speed limit for the internet

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/10/why-we-need-a-speed-limit-for-the-internet/

Email in the 18th century: the optical telegraph

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2007/12/email-in-the-18.html

How to build a low-tech internet?

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/10/how-to-build-a-low-tech-internet

How to build a low-tech website?

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2018/09/how-to-build-a-low-tech-website/

How sustainable is a solar powered website?

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2020/01/how-sustainable-is-a-solar-powered-website.html

How and why I stopped buying laptops

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2020/12/how-and-why-i-stopped-buying-new-laptops

Why the office needs a typewriter revolution

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2016/11/why-the-office-needs-a-typewriter-revolution.html