computer posture

ever notice how laptops (and computers in general) seem to be designed to induce bad posture? consider the following


a laptop usually sits either on a desk or in one's lap so as to make the keyboard close to one's hand. however, this also places the screen, which is affixed to the keyboard, far below eye level. in order to see the screen, one must hunch one's back, crane the neck forward, and achieve what is certainly a not good posture. furthermore, in this position, the hands must be moved, requiring the shoulders to be hunched up and it, placing further strain on the neck and back. the wrists are often canted at an angle most conducive to developing carpal tunnels. if one attempts to achieve a somewhat better posture, the screen becomes too far away to read (thus straining the eyes), the hands can no longer be placed in an effective position on the keyboard, and the whole apparatus rather loses its utility.

however, why is it that we must adopt bad posture to use a computer? could we have a situation in which the human user retains good posture while the computer deforms itself into a bad posture?


due to my lack of artistic talent, this looks less like a computer with bad posture and more like a computer monstar ready to devour the unsuspecting user with good posture. however, I think it makes the point of how ridiculous a computer would look contorted around a human; almost as ridiculous as a human contorted around a computer.

there are about a million and a half approaches to remedy this: ergonomics, standing desk configurations, less traditional computing interfaces, etc. take your pick.