Re: Jef Atwood's programming chair: Stop being a slave to U.S. consumerism.

The author of this missive is either young enough to not understand back pain (say, under 25), or lucky enough to have avoided any back problems in his life (maybe no manual labor in his history, but enough leisure activity to give him a reasonably strong core). I used cheap chairs for years...and would frequently experience crippling back pain.

I injured my back a few times as a kid (skateboards and BMX freestyle bikes, mostly), and so I just thought it's the way things were. Then I started having severe pain in my elbows and throughout my hands, making it difficult to work. So, I switched to a minimal-mouse environment, and started spending more time away from the keyboard, which helped with both problems to some degree. But in the end the only thing that eventually resolved all of those issues was getting a better chair. I bought an Aeron at the Arthur Anderson liquidation auction for about $450 (I was going to bid on a shredder, but my dad reminded me that they would already be worn out), and I'm still sitting in it several years later. I rarely experience back pain anymore, and my elbow, wrist and hand problems are long gone and have never returned, despite my going back to a more mouse-heavy environment.

Chairs are not a "princess and the pea" type of situation, and the notion that a good work environment doesn't help productivity is just retarded. I don't believe in useless excess, either, and I still use the same modest oak desk I've had for over fifteen years. I used a 21" HP UNIX workstation CRT that I'd bought for $25 bucks for about seven years. But I'm not going to live with back pain to save a few bucks on a chair, and I would never work for someone that expected me to sit in a crappy chair. And, I think most places intuitively understand this...even if they don't have Aerons or other trendy chairs, most businesses have reasonably nice Keilhauer or Steelcase chairs or something along those lines.

There are two things my Grandpa (A Joiner) used to say that stuck with me. A good tradesman never blames his tools, and money spent on cheap tools is money wasted.

I think Jeff has a point, I spend long periods at my desk and after having a few bouts of bad back problems I'm very selective about where I park my butt.

Jeff mentioned that he has used his chair for ten years. My grandfathers tools are still being used in our family 30-40 years after they were bought.

I think that people in the IT industry need to give there workspace as much consideration as what OS/programming language/Framework they use. You can always change your OS/language/framework but your stuck with your back and wrists for a lifetime!

The problem with this argument is that your chair actually has an impact on your health. Humans were not designed to sit in the same position for dozens of hours on end every day of every week.

I'm now doing physical therapy because my back is so weak that my innards are literally applying serious pressure to my lungs. What I initially thought was asthma (in my nightmares it was emphysema) turned out to be poor posture.

I'd just ask that you consider that.

Who voted up this crap??