BARATUNDE R. THURSTON'S TechTalk

Sunday, March 15: Today, I began to feel a strange tingling, tickling sensation in both my outer forearms.

Monday, March 16: Hoping the strange feeling would go away with a good night's sleep, I was disappointed to discover it is still with me. I began to worry and suspect Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). A friend told me to go to the doctor. I sucked it up and finished a short application essay.

Tuesday, March 17: The sensation has not dissipated, but to the contrary, has intensified. More pain than tingling, it is now located in my inner forearms. I had to take a midterm today and barely made it for all the handwriting we had to do. Stupid Core. I made an appointment at University Health Services and spent two hours absorbing the Harvard RSI Action website (www.eecs.harvard.edu/rsi).

Wednesday, March 18: Same old pain. My computer jockey lifestyle has flashed before me: the all-nighters for Computer Science 50 and philosophy papers; the 700 e-mails per month; the incessant clicking of the mouse button for web browsing. Frighteningly, this evening I started to have a painful tugging in one of the tendons of my right forearm. I did not write my tutorial paper for fear of doing further damage. I have begun to enlist friends and strangers in the computer lab to type messages for me.

Thursday, March 19: I saw the doctor this morning and officially have RSI. Also registered with the Student Disabilities Resource Center. The doctor had me take nine Advils a day for pain. I signed up for training in Dragon Dictate, voice recognition software available in Harvard's Adaptive Technology Lab. Made an appointment with my tutorial leader to explain why I could not write my paper. Horoscope said I should expect to have to drastically change my lifestyle.

Friday, March 20: Trained in Dragon Dictate today. It was one of the most frustrating experiences of my computer life, right up there with assignment 8 from CS50. I bought this book by Emil Pascarelli, "Repetitive Strain Injuries: A Computer User's Guide." I can't wait to go home. One week of rest and I'll be ready to jump back on the keyboard!

What you have just read is an excerpt from my RSI journal, and my last sentence could not have been more off base. I won't be jumping on any keyboards for a while--at least not at the maddening rate I'm used to.

Since that last entry, I have taken a break from keyboarding. I've gotten better with the voice software. I've slept and eaten well. I even finished that book, but I am nowhere near full recovery.

RSI is a class of injuries associated with minute, repetitive movements, especially typing. It has been around for at least a few hundred years in such fields as meatpacking, but only recently have cases mounted in number since the proliferation of computers and the high-speed input method of keyboard typing.

The manifesting effects can be tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and something funky called deQuervian's disease. All of these are RSI.

As far as computer-use-induced RSI goes, the contributing factors include body positioning in relation to the keyboard, mouse and monitor; typing technique; posture; sleep; diet; religion and hair color.

But the biggest offender is the act of typing itself. We just were not made for it. Typing is counter-evolutionary. We evolved to chase cheetahs and bounce babies and roam free and use a variety of muscles, not sit for hours a day (or night) and overwork our weakest muscles by typing.

So what can you do to prevent ending up like me?

First the superficial: at least be sure your environment is healthy. The top of your monitor should line up with your eyes. Contrary to idiotic design, your keyboard should actually be angled away from you. Keep your wrists level and above the table or wrist rest. Brush your teeth.

Now the substantive: preventing the onset of this debilitating and depressing disease must involve a change in your work habits. You can have the most ergonomic workstation this side of Central Square and still get RSI.

The simplest, and at the same time most comprehensive, way to approach using your computer is to treat it as an athletic event. We would never treat our legs the way we treat our hands and arms. Just imagine racing full speed for six hours straight through the night without stretching first, taking breaks and pacing yourself. That's a clear road to injury.

Take frequent breaks (every half hour) and do some real stretches. Get up, and get the blood moving. Treat yourself like an investment and diversify. Do a little typing, a little reading, a little breathing, maybe. If it means slowing down, then as the great philosopher Jean-Luc Picard would say, "Make it so."

Baratunde R. Thurston `99 is a user assistant for Harvard Arts and Sciences Computer Services (HASCS) and a Crimson On-line Director and News Executive. He talks to computers and can be found on the stoop of Claverly Hall blasting music out his window and giving his RSI speech.