People trained in a subject can notice issues you'd never think about.

In 2019-2020, I was trained as a cycling coach.

The process involved lessons in psychology, physiology, nutrition, how to work with kids, and, of course, practical instructions on proper handling of bicycles and bike paraphernalia. Of course, while anyone who's reached the point in cycling where they're working on a coaching license will know how to properly wear a helmet, we went over it anyway. Not only were we given the practical instructions - make sure it's covering your forehead, adjust the strap so that it can't go past your chin but isn't too tight, move the plastic bits under our ears - but we were also given the why; the severity of head injuries, the way in which a helmet is designed to crack and absorb the impact without transferring it to your skull, the most common ways in which people tend to fall on their heads, and so forth.

In 2021, I was trained in industrial height work. I learned how to put on a harness, how to adjust it for yourself, how to attach yourself at height and with what equipment, how to check equipment to make sure it's able to be used, and what equipment to use at different times (such as a device to prevent falling versus a device to absorb a fall). And again, I was taught the why: how a fall transfers energy through the equipment and harness, how corrosion affects equipment, the different effects of a fall depending on how long it takes for a fall absorber to work, etc. The "do this" instructions were accompanied with a "here's why".

In 2023, I took an online course on web accessibility. Once again, I learned the "whats" - specific strategies and methods for ensuring that people with disabilities can consume your content - but also the "whys"; how specific disabilities affect people, what adaptive technology exists for accommodating disabilities and how they work, and the difficulties caused when people don't properly account for accessibility.

On the face of it, cycling, industrial height work, and web accessibility don't have much in common. But one thing does connect them all: once you're trained in noticing an issue, and you understand why it's an issue, that ability stays with you.

To this day, I can spot improperly worn helmets fairly effortlessly (not to mention all the people who forego them entirely). I can see when people have their legs the opposite way to how they should when turning a corner on their bikes, increasing the chances of the bike slipping out from underneath them. Whenever I pass someone working on a roof or radio tower, I can tell if they're following safety guidelines or not. And browsing the internet, I'm more likely to notice if you skip putting proper alt text in for an image or if all of your link texts just say "here".

I'm not consciously looking around trying to find people improperly wearing helmets, for instance. It's something that I notice when I encounter it. Prior to being trained in how to properly wear a helmet and why, I never would have noticed; I knew that wearing a helmet was important, but I never noticed that people were doing it incorrectly. Knowing about and understanding an issue means you notice it more. It doesn't mean that suddenly the actual situation has changed; what's changed is that now you're aware of a problem that's always been there.

Other people still won't notice. Someone can pass right by your average Joe, wearing a cracked, ancient helmet that's skewed to one side and tilted all the way back, and all the average Joe will think is "oh, nice, that person is wearing a helmet" - if they're paying attention to that aspect at all. And if I tell this person with the ancient helmet "hey, you're doing this wrong", chances are that it won't be received well, at least until this person understands what the problem is. I'll be seen as nitpicking minor details, when in fact the difference between wearing a helmet correctly and incorrectly can be the difference between life and death - but people who aren't familiar with the issue don't understand that.

This is not a post about cycling, or height work, or web accessibility.