I was really inspired by this story of Emma, a designer who lost motor control in her hands to Parkinson’s. She was unable to draw a straight line or sign her own name. The story is about a device that helped her get over the tremors and regain control of her hands. But, the thing that really interested me was the feeling of losing control. I cannot imagine what it must feel like to want your hands to move, to beg your muscles to contract in just the right way, and watch yourself fail.

I want to make a pencil which would simulate the experience of that frustration. I guess it would be a pencil with a wide, poorly designed grip which would force you to hold it the way Emma is forced to. It would have motors that would move the tip to match the way Emma’s hands vibrate. Or perhaps the pencil would just have electrodes and act as a TENS device, exciting the muscles involuntarily.

I hope that this would give me, and perhaps others a taste of what it might be to live with Parkinson’s; and make us more empathetic.