Age Simulation Suit

Purpose and Uses of Age Simulation Suits

• Seen as tools for empathy and accessibility design: letting younger people feel mobility, strength, sensory and pain limitations to improve products, spaces, and care.
• Mention of retirement homes using similar suits in onboarding so staff understand why residents move slowly or struggle with tasks.
• Example of an “obesity suit” used for caregiver training; ordinary tasks became surprisingly hard.
• Some argue you could instead just ask elderly/disabled people directly, warning that suits risk oversimplifying diverse aging experiences.

Limitations and Risks of Simulation

• Concerns that a few hours in a suit may create overconfidence and judgment: “I handled it, so why can’t they?”
• Initial versions mainly restrict movement and senses, missing pain, breathlessness, cognitive decline, anxiety, or loneliness.
• Others counter that partial understanding is still far better than none, and add‑on modules now simulate specific pains, tremor, vision loss, tinnitus, etc.
• A few worry about policy misuse (e.g., “proving” older people shouldn’t drive or operate devices).

“Youth Suit” and Augmentation Fantasies

• Many say they’d rather have the opposite: a “youth simulation suit” or an exoskeleton that boosts strength, endurance, and senses.
• Discussion of powered exoskeletons, haptics, AR and AI; consensus that tech isn’t yet mature, and batteries and latency are big constraints.
• Some fear such tech becoming an addictive escape (“worst drug we invent”).

Personal Accounts of Aging and Mobility

• Multiple stories of parents/grandparents: a fall or loss of a dog leads to reduced walking, rapid physical and cognitive decline, and institutionalization.
• Strong emphasis that continued walking, balance work, and immediate physical/occupational therapy after injury or surgery are critical.
• Several older commenters report being fitter in their 60s–70s than in mid‑life, crediting daily walking, swimming, strength training, mental engagement, and diet.

Aging, Disease, and Longevity Debate

• Lengthy back‑and‑forth on whether aging should be classified as a disease.
• Pro side: aging is harmful, drives most other diseases, and calling it a disease would focus funding and research.
• Contra side: death and decline are viewed as fundamental biological processes; redefining them as disease confuses pathology and ignores current impossibility of full control.
• Ethical fears: life extension leading to effectively immortal leaders, extreme inequality, and resource strain, versus counterarguments that technology tends to diffuse and improves many lives.

Lifestyle, Pain, and Prevention

• Many in their 30s–40s describe growing “background aches,” overuse injuries, and the necessity of warmups and careful training.
• Repeated theme: much “normal” midlife pain is blamed on sedentary habits, poor diet, and lack of strength/mobility work, not just age.
• Suggestions include regular cardio and strength work, modest daily routines, diet experiments (e.g., elimination or gluten reduction), and sun protection to prevent skin aging and cancer.

Tech and Social Tools for Better Old Age

• Ideas like AR glasses providing real‑time subtitles for hearing loss; video games for cognitive engagement and social connection.
• Dogs described as powerful motivators for daily walking and social interaction, sometimes clearly delaying decline.

Ethics, Empathy, and “Humble Suits”

• One commenter imagines a broader “humble suit” to simulate many disabilities as a way to manufacture compassion in a society focused on productivity and entertainment.
• Acknowledges risk that short simulations may produce self‑righteousness rather than genuine empathy if not carefully framed.