Give her a hand
August 28, 2014 6:58 AM Subscribe
Notice that cute girl on campus? Like to know her better? Why not give her a hand?
That is the most gorgeous prosthetic I have seen, and I have seen the acrylic see through legs!
posted by mrgroweler at 7:06 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by mrgroweler at 7:06 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
There's a romantic screenplay in here somewhere. That's beautiful.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:08 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:08 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
3-D printed arms so, so much better than 3-D printed firearms.
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:12 AM on August 28, 2014 [26 favorites]
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:12 AM on August 28, 2014 [26 favorites]
It looks like the comments thread a bunch of people accuse him of making a "useless" prosthesis and he makes his case:
posted by griphus at 7:23 AM on August 28, 2014 [17 favorites]
This was designed as a cosmetic accessory, like jewelry, high heel shoes, nice clothing, etc, and nothing more... I assumed that a person with a missing limb has an opportunity that almost no one else has, an opportunity to wear some of the the most unique accessory's on the planet.Well, it's a really rad-looking prosthesis and the young woman in the photos looks delighted with it and considering all the ways this story could've very easily been super-creepy, I am glad it turned out the way it did. People who wear glasses or use canes to walk don't always get purely utilitarian models and instead choose to express themselves through the objects, so why not something like this for a person who enjoys fashion (as she seems to)?
posted by griphus at 7:23 AM on August 28, 2014 [17 favorites]
(I also really liked that the tone of the piece completely avoided reading anything more into his intent than "a person wanted to do a nice thing for another person.")
posted by griphus at 7:24 AM on August 28, 2014 [14 favorites]
posted by griphus at 7:24 AM on August 28, 2014 [14 favorites]
Fantastic! Next 3-D project: Lady Port-Huntley's beer-filled glass legs!
posted by Pudhoho at 7:26 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Pudhoho at 7:26 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
Repeating what others have pointed out: thank God he discussed it with her and involved her in the process. The wording of the post made me expect a "You don't know me, but I made you this hand, m'lady!" situation.
posted by doctornecessiter at 7:33 AM on August 28, 2014 [13 favorites]
posted by doctornecessiter at 7:33 AM on August 28, 2014 [13 favorites]
This reminds me of the Moon is a Harsh Mistress where the main character refers to one of his replacement prosthetic arms as his 'social' arm. Prosthetics are sometimes very visually interesting, but they're never what one could call pretty. Certain situations don't really call for fully functional prosthetic…Going out to social functions like a movie, concert or just for drinks with friends, you might want something that's just straight attractive.
I also think this sort of bypasses the problem that prosthetics might eventually reach in bordering on uncanny valley territory; don't make them look identical to a human hand, make them look prettier than a human hand. There's totally a place for this, and it's really cool!
The collaborative approach is really important and awesome, but I also can't help but wonder, in this particular instance, why limit yourself to something arm/hand shaped? The design is purely aesthetic, so you could easily express this idea in a hundred different directions.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:51 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
I also think this sort of bypasses the problem that prosthetics might eventually reach in bordering on uncanny valley territory; don't make them look identical to a human hand, make them look prettier than a human hand. There's totally a place for this, and it's really cool!
The collaborative approach is really important and awesome, but I also can't help but wonder, in this particular instance, why limit yourself to something arm/hand shaped? The design is purely aesthetic, so you could easily express this idea in a hundred different directions.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:51 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
The boundless joy that the internet takes in pissing on something never ceases to amaze. I thought this was a pretty cool little project with a collegiate air to it. (as in - something one could only really do in college)
posted by drewbage1847 at 7:52 AM on August 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by drewbage1847 at 7:52 AM on August 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
why limit yourself to something arm/hand shaped?
They can work together on an arm that has a "launchable" boxing glove and another with a grappling hook and another with a...
Oh dear, I feel a CW series coming on....
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:03 AM on August 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
They can work together on an arm that has a "launchable" boxing glove and another with a grappling hook and another with a...
Oh dear, I feel a CW series coming on....
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:03 AM on August 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
More seriously, I thought this was nice. It would be interesting if they could work with a prosthetic lab and make something that was both stylish and functional.
Bonus video -- "My Legoleg" from AmputeeOT
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:06 AM on August 28, 2014
Bonus video -- "My Legoleg" from AmputeeOT
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:06 AM on August 28, 2014
Yeah, it's a very school-only kind of story -- it would be pretty creepy anywhere else -- but it's pretty charming here.
His website has a gorgeous arm with a light inside the wrist, too.
posted by jeather at 8:07 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
His website has a gorgeous arm with a light inside the wrist, too.
posted by jeather at 8:07 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
The hands may not be the most functional, but give 3-D printing a little more time to mature. Ten or twenty years from now, the printers will be putting out limbs which are fully articulated and powered. Plus they will have a slot for your iphone.
posted by happyroach at 8:25 AM on August 28, 2014
posted by happyroach at 8:25 AM on August 28, 2014
furnace.heart, what do you have in mind, something like a playable banjo?
posted by rikschell at 8:29 AM on August 28, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 8:29 AM on August 28, 2014 [4 favorites]
This was great. And there are some beautiful prosthetics out there
posted by frykitty at 8:32 AM on August 28, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by frykitty at 8:32 AM on August 28, 2014 [4 favorites]
"That's nice, but how about a warhammer?"
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:43 AM on August 28, 2014
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:43 AM on August 28, 2014
Personally I feel like "hey stranger have you noticed that you lack a hand I can make you a hand" is pretty presumptuous regardless of whether or not it pleased the woman in this case. Like it's kind of a textbook rude way to interact with a person who has a disability?
The prosthetic does look rad though.
posted by threeants at 9:00 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
The prosthetic does look rad though.
posted by threeants at 9:00 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
@threeants -- they don't really say how he approached her. It may have gone something like "I am taking a course in design for 3-D printers, and I need a project. Would you be interested in a cosmetic prosthesis?", which would have been totally feasible at a university and a lot less presumptuous.
posted by pbrim at 9:15 AM on August 28, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by pbrim at 9:15 AM on August 28, 2014 [7 favorites]
@threeants: Or it's a textbook way to show some consideration for and kindness towards a stranger.
Guess it depends on perspective & how one chooses to interpret the intention. In this case, the woman who was the recipient of the offer seems to have appreciated it.
Glad she hasn't read all those textbooks.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 9:17 AM on August 28, 2014 [5 favorites]
Guess it depends on perspective & how one chooses to interpret the intention. In this case, the woman who was the recipient of the offer seems to have appreciated it.
Glad she hasn't read all those textbooks.
posted by armoir from antproof case at 9:17 AM on August 28, 2014 [5 favorites]
The problem with crossing the line is not that it's always bad, it's that sometimes you don't know whether it's good or bad until you see how it's received. The usual rule of thumb is that if you don't know the person well enough to understand their boundaries, don't. But if he hadn't, just look what wouldn't have happened! It comes down to instincts, I suppose -- his instincts about her approachability on the subject, and her instincts about his intentions.
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:26 AM on August 28, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by George_Spiggott at 9:26 AM on August 28, 2014 [4 favorites]
something like a playable banjo?
No, just something that's not constrained to 'hand shaped' necessarily; I mean, the field is wide open if you're not looking to replace the functional limb with the same abilities. I'm not really creative enough, or in the position to know what someone without a limb would want or find useful or attractive, and most of this I'm sure is based on personal preference.
The most interesting part of this project is that it divorces the pure function of a prosthetic to 'do things a hand would do' to 'making something purely aesthetic,' which has its own value outright.
There's a gradient here from "cartoon 4 fingered mickey mouse hand" or "Zoidberg claw" to "classy enough to wear to a fundraiser dinner with a fancy dress" and everything in between. Since the arm needs not be functional, you've got an infinite amount of latitude when it comes to how you present the limb aesthetically. All i'm saying is that you don't need it to be a pretty analog for a hand, it can just be pretty.
So fucking cool.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:27 AM on August 28, 2014
No, just something that's not constrained to 'hand shaped' necessarily; I mean, the field is wide open if you're not looking to replace the functional limb with the same abilities. I'm not really creative enough, or in the position to know what someone without a limb would want or find useful or attractive, and most of this I'm sure is based on personal preference.
The most interesting part of this project is that it divorces the pure function of a prosthetic to 'do things a hand would do' to 'making something purely aesthetic,' which has its own value outright.
There's a gradient here from "cartoon 4 fingered mickey mouse hand" or "Zoidberg claw" to "classy enough to wear to a fundraiser dinner with a fancy dress" and everything in between. Since the arm needs not be functional, you've got an infinite amount of latitude when it comes to how you present the limb aesthetically. All i'm saying is that you don't need it to be a pretty analog for a hand, it can just be pretty.
So fucking cool.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:27 AM on August 28, 2014
3-D printed arms so, so much better than 3-D printed firearms.
Why not both? It's been done before. (not 3D printed, but on display at the German Spy Museum)
Seriously, though, what Evan did is a wonderfully heartwarming thing to see.
posted by chambers at 9:27 AM on August 28, 2014
Why not both? It's been done before. (not 3D printed, but on display at the German Spy Museum)
Seriously, though, what Evan did is a wonderfully heartwarming thing to see.
posted by chambers at 9:27 AM on August 28, 2014
Why did they not interview this lady? I was interested to know what she thought of the prosthesis, but the article doesn't even touch on that. It's just, "Good job, male person. Wow, look at this neato thing that a male person did." We just have to speculate that she is happy with it because of the photos presented. All right, I guess they do say one thing: The article says that she says it "fits like a glove", which is not a quote from her.
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 9:41 AM on August 28, 2014 [13 favorites]
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 9:41 AM on August 28, 2014 [13 favorites]
When I was in college, you could go to the computer lab and like, print... a... graph? Maybe? Now you can print a bloomin' hand! A human hand! Sometimes I think that the future is maybe not all horror and madness all the time.
posted by Mister_A at 10:00 AM on August 28, 2014
posted by Mister_A at 10:00 AM on August 28, 2014
The computer lab prints the robot hands. For a human hand you need to go to the fleshsculpting studio.
posted by griphus at 10:01 AM on August 28, 2014
posted by griphus at 10:01 AM on August 28, 2014
It looks like the comments thread a bunch of people accuse him of making a "useless" prosthesis
What's bizarre is that they act as if he's insulted or abused her in some way, basically denying her agency in having made her own decision to work with him, and her apparent delight at the result. No doubt she's been in a position to consider a prosthetic in her life before this -- not that I know this but it seems overwhelmingly likely -- and something about this appealed to her in the way those others didn't; perhaps the fact that she got to decide what it would be like and that he didn't treat her as someone with an inadequacy but an opportunity to do something expressive.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:03 AM on August 28, 2014
What's bizarre is that they act as if he's insulted or abused her in some way, basically denying her agency in having made her own decision to work with him, and her apparent delight at the result. No doubt she's been in a position to consider a prosthetic in her life before this -- not that I know this but it seems overwhelmingly likely -- and something about this appealed to her in the way those others didn't; perhaps the fact that she got to decide what it would be like and that he didn't treat her as someone with an inadequacy but an opportunity to do something expressive.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:03 AM on August 28, 2014
Galaxor, I understand your point, but it is also possible the woman didn't want to be interviewed, is shy, etc. Or maybe she's a crappy interview. Or there just wasn't room in this very short piece. It's not fair to assume that there's some awful sexist subtext to it.
posted by Mister_A at 10:04 AM on August 28, 2014
posted by Mister_A at 10:04 AM on August 28, 2014
Why did they not interview this lady?
We don't know if she refused an offer. I'm fairly confident we'll hear about it if there was anything not on the up and up - this story has been out for a few days already. Also, I don't see where in the article that has any focus on the fact that the designer is a guy, and where the "good guy male" focus is in the article. They say they are friends, his site shows he made at least 2 of them for her, and her pictures taken that feature the prosthetic shows her pretty happy about it. Can't it be simply just that? I don't see anything that indicates anything negative here, and it feels like people are hunting for the dark side of this because there must be something wrong here, which kinda baffles me.
posted by chambers at 10:07 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
We don't know if she refused an offer. I'm fairly confident we'll hear about it if there was anything not on the up and up - this story has been out for a few days already. Also, I don't see where in the article that has any focus on the fact that the designer is a guy, and where the "good guy male" focus is in the article. They say they are friends, his site shows he made at least 2 of them for her, and her pictures taken that feature the prosthetic shows her pretty happy about it. Can't it be simply just that? I don't see anything that indicates anything negative here, and it feels like people are hunting for the dark side of this because there must be something wrong here, which kinda baffles me.
posted by chambers at 10:07 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
I was thinking the problem was that the article was a rush job and that's why we don't have quotes from her. It just felt real jarring to read cuz I kept waiting to see what she thought about it. And even if it was not intentionally sexist (much sexism is not intended as such), it was the woman's voice that got excluded.
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 10:22 AM on August 28, 2014
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 10:22 AM on August 28, 2014
I'm surprised he didn't adapt the functional version to be more pleasing aesthetically. But maybe she didn't want any functionality? Hard to say since they didn't bother to talk to her.
posted by zug at 10:23 AM on August 28, 2014
posted by zug at 10:23 AM on August 28, 2014
Imagine a post showing up on AskMe that said: "I go to university with a woman who's missing her left hand. I'm thinking of offering to design a prosthetic for her using the 3-D printing lab. What do you think is the best way to do this?"
What would the public response be? Would the resulting pile-on be more or less violent than this previous fiasco? (By the way, rikschell, were you making an oblique reference to that thread? Because if so, bravo.) Be honest, now.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:31 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
What would the public response be? Would the resulting pile-on be more or less violent than this previous fiasco? (By the way, rikschell, were you making an oblique reference to that thread? Because if so, bravo.) Be honest, now.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:31 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
"A gun rack?... A-a gun rack... hh'yahh, right..."
posted by ReeMonster at 10:39 AM on August 28, 2014
posted by ReeMonster at 10:39 AM on August 28, 2014
It just felt real jarring to read cuz I kept waiting to see what she thought about it. And even if it was not intentionally sexist (much sexism is not intended as such), it was the woman's voice that got excluded.
I would love to her her speak about the prosthetic and how this all happened too - her absence in this article is not something to be understated. If they requested an interview with her and she declined or just didn't respond before post time, it would have been great if they had mentioned it. I agree this article feels rushed and this story could use a much more in-depth version, and that rushing could be why it wasn't mentioned. It's rather odd that all this, which could be 100% fine and just the story was executed in an incomplete way may end up with her having a good bit of stress just from "THE INTERNET" demanding some form of statement and confirmation, and that kind of attention, even if well-intended, is the kind of attention and spotlight that is probably not really fun to be the focus of in the best of cases. I'm guessing here, but I don't think anybody involved thought it would be as big on the internet as it has become, and that what was just a cool project and thing to do is getting so many expecting something darker behind the story. I'll take the story at face value unless she indicates differently.
posted by chambers at 10:48 AM on August 28, 2014
I would love to her her speak about the prosthetic and how this all happened too - her absence in this article is not something to be understated. If they requested an interview with her and she declined or just didn't respond before post time, it would have been great if they had mentioned it. I agree this article feels rushed and this story could use a much more in-depth version, and that rushing could be why it wasn't mentioned. It's rather odd that all this, which could be 100% fine and just the story was executed in an incomplete way may end up with her having a good bit of stress just from "THE INTERNET" demanding some form of statement and confirmation, and that kind of attention, even if well-intended, is the kind of attention and spotlight that is probably not really fun to be the focus of in the best of cases. I'm guessing here, but I don't think anybody involved thought it would be as big on the internet as it has become, and that what was just a cool project and thing to do is getting so many expecting something darker behind the story. I'll take the story at face value unless she indicates differently.
posted by chambers at 10:48 AM on August 28, 2014
They can work together on an arm that has a "launchable" boxing glove and another with a grappling hook and another with a...
Careful. Start down that path and next thing you know you're under constant threat from Dr. Claw.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 11:07 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Careful. Start down that path and next thing you know you're under constant threat from Dr. Claw.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 11:07 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
What would have been really creepy is he'd made her a hand that not only worked, but had a mind of its own.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:28 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:28 AM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
"This was designed as a cosmetic accessory, like jewelry, high heel shoes, nice clothing, etc, and nothing more... I assumed that a person with a missing limb has an opportunity that almost no one else has, an opportunity to wear some of the the most unique accessory's on the planet."
I'm a little surprised no one has linked to Aimee Mullins TED talk yet
posted by anastasiav at 11:36 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'm a little surprised no one has linked to Aimee Mullins TED talk yet
posted by anastasiav at 11:36 AM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
What would the public response be? Would the resulting pile-on be more or less violent than this previous fiasco?
Depends how the question is phrased. If the dude were to ask how he can woo a lady who he has never talked to with a prosthetic arm, the response would probably be overwhelmingly negative and rightly so. If he were to make it clear that a) this is explicitly a design exercise requiring a person with an amputated limb and not a courting ritual and b) he'd like to be as respectful as possible because this is pretty fucking obviously a weird-ass thing to ask of someone, I'm sure some people would say 'no this is a bad idea' but others would not and I sincerely doubt it would be remotely as vociferous. There's no hidden agenda here; the situation is not "I want her to fall in love with me because I fixed her," it's "I have an idea of how to help people, but I need a person to help me execute it."
posted by griphus at 11:46 AM on August 28, 2014 [4 favorites]
Depends how the question is phrased. If the dude were to ask how he can woo a lady who he has never talked to with a prosthetic arm, the response would probably be overwhelmingly negative and rightly so. If he were to make it clear that a) this is explicitly a design exercise requiring a person with an amputated limb and not a courting ritual and b) he'd like to be as respectful as possible because this is pretty fucking obviously a weird-ass thing to ask of someone, I'm sure some people would say 'no this is a bad idea' but others would not and I sincerely doubt it would be remotely as vociferous. There's no hidden agenda here; the situation is not "I want her to fall in love with me because I fixed her," it's "I have an idea of how to help people, but I need a person to help me execute it."
posted by griphus at 11:46 AM on August 28, 2014 [4 favorites]
I can't help but think that if I lost a hand that I would want a number of plug-in specialty hands. A tongs and spatula hand. A drink mixer hand. A iPod and synchronized dancing lights hand. A GIANT CLAW hand. I'd like to be like one of those action figures with the add-on limbs.
posted by happyroach at 12:56 PM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by happyroach at 12:56 PM on August 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
Ding ding ding. Faint of Butt has it.
posted by rikschell at 4:08 PM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by rikschell at 4:08 PM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Ivania, the model and the photographer, says this version fits like a glove.
Um.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:35 PM on August 28, 2014
Um.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:35 PM on August 28, 2014
What would have been really creepy is he'd made her a hand that not only worked, but had a mind of its own.
What would have been even creepier is if it had a mind of its own and could detach from her arm and walk around on its fingers like Thing from The Addams Family.
Actually no, that would be pretty awesome.
posted by C^3 at 7:53 PM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
What would have been even creepier is if it had a mind of its own and could detach from her arm and walk around on its fingers like Thing from The Addams Family.
Actually no, that would be pretty awesome.
posted by C^3 at 7:53 PM on August 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
I can't help but think that if I lost a hand that I would want a number of plug-in specialty hands. A tongs and spatula hand. A drink mixer hand. A iPod and synchronized dancing lights hand. A GIANT CLAW hand. I'd like to be like one of those action figures with the add-on limbs.
A while back there was a reality cooking show, and one of the contestants had only one hand, so he had a custom-made set of chef's knives that slotted into a notch on his prosthesis.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:25 AM on August 29, 2014 [2 favorites]
A while back there was a reality cooking show, and one of the contestants had only one hand, so he had a custom-made set of chef's knives that slotted into a notch on his prosthesis.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:25 AM on August 29, 2014 [2 favorites]
holy cow have you all seen the 1st version of the arm? via
Anyway, i been trying to find any interviews with her online and can't.
posted by rebent at 5:52 AM on August 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
Anyway, i been trying to find any interviews with her online and can't.
posted by rebent at 5:52 AM on August 29, 2014 [1 favorite]
threeants: Personally I feel like "hey stranger have you noticed that you lack a hand I can make you a hand" is pretty presumptuous regardless of whether or not it pleased the woman in this case. Like it's kind of a textbook rude way to interact with a person who has a disability?It's mostly indicative of the way you choose to look at things, since you really have no knowledge of how it happened, yet you already have framed it as "pretty presumptuous" and "textbook rude".
I don't think I like the world you see very much.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:23 AM on August 29, 2014
Hey, I dunno. I was thinking that if I were feeling self conscious about my arm and desperately wanting to blend in and somebody offered me a prosthetic I might be really pissed off. It is forward bordering on rude. On the other hand, she seems to have been okay with it, which means he probably read her well and approached her in a good way. And that's all that matters. God for them and it is a super stylish hand.
It does feel strange to read about her without getting her perspective. That's like the first thing I'd try and get as a journalist. This reads like she's his passive project. As if her voice is not as important.
posted by Omnomnom at 12:15 PM on August 29, 2014
It does feel strange to read about her without getting her perspective. That's like the first thing I'd try and get as a journalist. This reads like she's his passive project. As if her voice is not as important.
posted by Omnomnom at 12:15 PM on August 29, 2014
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posted by schmod at 7:03 AM on August 28, 2014 [3 favorites]