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Who knew measuring grip strength could be so depressing?
Short version: grip strength is a reliable, if somewhat quirky, measurement of well-being. In one generation it has decreased measurably.
End of civilization? Or civilization destroying humanity?
Surely not that bad, but fun article: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/raising-the-american-weakling
(Ignore the click-bait title. It's unworthy of the article.)
@RomeoTBravo My initial reaction is that as a software developer, I don't tend to rely on grip strength. My livelihood doesn't rely on the strength of my fingers - at least now that I've switched to a mechanical keyboard.
One thing I found entertaining in the article: "Gripping is part of a long story in which we have been getting weaker for millions of years." -- I'm so glad we have millions of years of data to work with on this.
I'm more concerned with our grip on reality than our grip on a pull up bar. We see to have lost a grasp on objective reality and reason, which seems more significant for humanity than how long we can grip a tree branch.
Disclaimer: The article is very long, and having to scroll through the whole thing was just too hard for my weak 21st century grip so I didn't get through the whole thing.