General Info

Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest growing health problems in the United States. It is frequently progressive, getting harder to control the longer you have it.

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by the inability of the body to use insulin properly (insulin resistance.) Over time, some type two diabetics require insulin shots to help control their diabetes.

(Type one diabetics cannot produce insulin, but they may over time become insulin resistant. Type two may have their pancreas quit producing insulin and wear out, so it is possible to have characteristics of both at the same time.)

I am a type two diabetic, and have been for about 6 years. Yesterday I started a new medication, which is a major breakthrough in the treatment of type two diabetes.

Technology is both a blessing and a curse, though I tend to usually be in the camp petitioning that it's more often the former. But lately I've been wondering if a lot of the problem isn't the technology, but the way we talk about it.

People sometimes accuse me of using jargon when I speak about technical matters. This is a necessity - I'm often talking about things and concepts that are not easily describable in everyday language. What people often misunderstand is that I'm not being overly technical when I talk - I'm being exactly as technical as I have to be. "Jargon" doesn't confuse things - quite the contrary. It makes things clearer.

When talking about (or to) machines, precision is required. Machines can't "do what we mean, not what we say." By my reckoning, this is the basis of probably 90% of people's frustration with machines.