The Cleveland Clinic defines disuse atrophy:
"Disuse (physiologic) atrophy is caused by not using your muscles enough. If you stop using your muscles, your body won’t waste the energy it needs to take care of them. Instead, your body will start to break your muscles down, which causes them to decrease in size and strength."
There are those who have lamented the decline in lawyering skills in the subculture of workers' compensation. I used to think this was a Florida thing. I listened to many discuss their lamentations across the country though and there is support for declaring this a phenomenon, or perhaps a pandemic.
As I have listened, I have harkened back to the old adage that "practice makes perfect." It is likely that litigation is a dying art through disuse atrophy. There just are not enough cases getting to trial to keep the skills intact. The brain is not technically a muscle, but I think the term is apropos and persuasive.
The topic reminded me of a book that attracted my father in the old days (before the pandemic). It is both a self-help book on survival and an encyclopedia of all the knowledge that your ancestors had. That is, all the knowledge they had that you and I lack. To some degree, that statement is pejorative. Apologies. But we have all been relieved of so much responsibility that our ancestors faced.
If you had to dig a well to obtain drinking water, would you know where to dig?
If you need a wheel for a wagon, barrow, or implement, would you have any idea what wood to use, how to prepare it, cut it, etc.?
If you were faced with a loss of sanitary services, how far from your living, well, etc. would/should you deposit waste?
If you needed to pick a spot for a garden, where would you start? What crops would grow well where you are?
In such an instance, how could you preserve your harvest for later?
These are topics that your ancestors faced. They learned skills that were necessary for their survival. They lived in a world without "big box" stores, 24-hour convenience stores, or even grocery stores. Over time, the idea of mercantile exchange came to pass, but there was a time when self-sufficiency was for real.
I am often reminded of the movie Idiocracy (20th Century, 2006). This tells the story of a dystopian future society and a chilling perspective on the impact of technology on humankind. The movie theme revolves around the cryogenic preservation of two test subjects by the United States military.
Due to a bizarre accident (the army forgets these two), the experimental preservation lasts far longer than planned. Following an odd accident, the test subjects are revived. These two low-ranking, 20th century "average," soldiers find themselves in a future in which there has been widespread mental atrophy (they are literally surrounded by people "a bit slow on the uptake."
They find themselves far from their "average" heritage. They are easily the two smartest humans on the planet. The evolution that has occurred during their slumber has been instead a devolution. Humans in that theme have been coddled by technology and their intellect and ability have both atrophied through disuse.
This is not dissimilar to the theme of Wall-E (Disney Pictures, 2008). The characters there exist in a world of floating easy chairs. Their flabby and distended bodies are the product of muscle wasting (disuse atrophy), and their minds are not that much better off. Living in a world of convenience and utopianism has diminished their functionality on multiple levels. They have been coddled and cared-for too long.
If you have not read Bob Wilson’s Cluttered Desk page regarding Wall-E, it’s worth a moment. It is a little insulting to us fat folks, but still worth your time.
The intellectual impacts are widespread. I recently ran into a gentleman I have known for years. He related how his adult child had frustratingly attempted to provide destination driving directions to a passing motorist in the adult child's neighborhood. In a town in which the person a lifetime, the adult could not provide any estimate of east west, north, or south, miles, kilometers, or even blocks. Striving to provide landmarks, there were challenges with landmarks, as the adult child remembered more readily what "used to be" on a particular corner and was unable to recall what is there today. The inquirer was uncomfortable with the smartphone "maps" and the direction provider was incapable without one.
I was reminded how quickly we can diminish when I recently rented a vehicle and was upgraded from my habitual lowly "compact" to a very nice SUV. This car had bells and whistles on its bells and whistles. I drove the car for three days. When I then got in my own car and tried to back up, I found myself wishing for the huge screen and back-up camera. When I got on the highway, I immediately remembered my car does not drive itself. Three days, and I forgot how to drive!
Convenience comes at us in the form of software, hardware, and even artificial intelligence. There is an entire generation that has never held a dictionary in their collective hands. With each cycle of technology and convenience, we are losing another layer of knowledge and skill to disuse atrophy.
This can be physical (I know a guy who does not even grocery shop anymore, except on an app that spurs a front-door delivery). He gets lots of exercise with his index finger. This can be mental (I know people who cannot begin to hand-write a letter to a friend). This can be humorous ("This car does not drive itself") or dangerous ("Officer, I forgot this car does not drive itself").
Could you Shepardize a case using a book (that was a bound collection of pulpous sheets called "paper" on which knowledge was stored)? Could you proofread without spell check, grammar check, or more? Could you engage in a hearing effectively if you have to be in-person (and not in your pajama bottoms, in your home, relaxed and chilling)? Can you remember evidentiary foundations, rule, and even where to look for them (is this a hearsay issue under 90.803 or a procedural rule issue under 1.330? Omigosh, is it both?)
The fact is that we are each a collection of diminishing skills. Our past experiences are a collective of education, mistakes, bruises, and recoveries. We have been challenged, faced uncertainty, and presented evidence and arguments. We have tried cases, been in the moment, and succeeded. But in the world of software, those skills are seemingly softening. Is it any different in any profession?
This is bad news for us all. But it is more so for those who were not around for the golden age of litigation, discovery, and interaction. Us old dogs struggle to remember. But the next generation is not struggling to remember, retain, and apply. They are struggling to understand, acclimate, and apply. Their challenge is daunting. Their world is different.
The inescapable prognostication is that the volume of trials will continue to decrease. There is less comfort with the challenges, less motivation to build and maintain skills, and less interest in the ways of yesteryear. Trials will increasingly be video exchanges (Texas reportedly just announced all their workers' compensation trials will now be video).
Skills will atrophy. We will step another step down the path away from great trial work. The changes and atrophy will not happen suddenly or violently. They will be subtle and slow. But you will likely look back in 20 years and "wonder how it ever got this crazy" (Eagles, Lyin' Eyes, Asylum Records, 1975). We may all wonder "did (we) get tired or just get lazy?" as we realize we are "so far gone (we) feel just like a fool." Cue the chorus.
