Comparing warning labels on gym equipment. From the 80s on the left, from the 2000s on the right. The one from the 2000s says a lot more, but the one from the 80s means a lot more.
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Comparing warning labels on gym equipment. From the 80s on the left, from the 2000s on the right. The one from the 2000s says a lot more, but the one from the 80s means a lot more.
Harrison
on 18 Jan 15Did you seriously just post a link to your instagram feed as an article? A picture and three sentences does not make an article.
Jason Fried
on 18 Jan 15@harrison we post images with brief captions from time to time. Have for years.
Jim Lockwood
on 18 Jan 15Great example that more is not necessarily better. It’s easy to tell which of the warnings has the best chance of preventing an injury.
Stefan
on 18 Jan 15@Harrison I guess it’s an article that doesn’t say a lot, but means a lot.
Tino
on 18 Jan 15An example of ever increasing “need for regulation”. Just like increasing surveillance or anti-terrorism measures: you can’t slim it down anymore, or someone will claim you didn’t do everything to prevent bad things from happening…
David Andersen
on 19 Jan 15I assume this is about thwarting lawsuits, sadly.
Adam Jones
on 19 Jan 15@David Yeah, that was my thought too. The label on the right is more concerned with protecting the equipment manufacturer / gym owner from lawsuits than it is protecting you from injury.
Robert Sullivan
on 19 Jan 15Somewhere I read that it is the steady, plodding developers that day in day out make everything happen. These are the devs that are able to hold their focus like a laser beam when working, but when it’s time to leave, i.e. the bus/taxi is here, they are out the door and their mind switches to something else like salsa dancing. At that hot startup, they are out the door at 8pm, all their work is done. The hare vs. the tortoise. The hare, meanwhile, is on twitter, reddit, infoq, searching for the next big thing, the silver bullet working till 2am because that’s what startups are all about. The hare has the passion, seeking the glory, the ultimate framework, the app no one has thought of, or the one true way. In doing so, they are almost on the sideline, millimeters away from being the architectural astronaut. Yes, nice ideas, we love your passion, but did you fix the bug? Now, that’s not to say we don’t need the dreamers, but we need a team like Brown’s Boys in the Boat. We need the coach shouting from the side, the gifted George Pocock giving subtle hints, tweaking performance, the mighty oarsman, and the clever coxswain, setting the tempo and strategy.
mark
on 22 Jan 15Damn trial lawyers. 😚
mark
on 22 Jan 15More seriously, I can’t speak to gym equipment specifically, but these warning labels tend to be federally mandated, down to font sizes, borders, and the order of words and phrases. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with past litigation. A lot probably has to do with the industry wanting government cover (a good defense to negligence would be following mandatory instructions for warning the consumer). But mostly I think that the arc of American law is toward ever greater disclosure—often, as you’ve observed, at the cost of clarity. For a more startup-centric example, just look at the warnings in your average private placement memo.
This discussion is closed.