It's important to remember that being a "free thinker" often just means "being weird." It's quite celebrated to "think for yourself" and people always connect this to specific political ideas, and suggest that free thinkers will have "better" political ideas by not going along with the crowd. On one hand, this is not necessarily true; the crowd could potentially have the better idea and the free thinker could have some crazy or bad idea.

But also, there is a heavy cost to being out of sync with people; how many people can you relate to? Do the people you talk to think you're weird? You don't do the same things, know the same things, talk about the same things, etc. You're the odd man out, and potentially for not much benefit. Being a "free thinker" doesn't necessarily guarantee much of anything. Your ideas are potentially original, but not necessarily better. One of my "free thinker" ideas is that bed frames and box springs are mostly superfluous and a mattress on the ground is more comfortable and cheaper. (getting up from a squat should not be difficult if you're even moderately healthy) Does this really buy me anything? No. I'm living to my preferences and in line with my ideas, but people just think it's weird, and would be really uncomfortable with it unless I'd already built up enough trust / goodwill to overcome this quirk.

> It's important to remember that being a "free thinker" often just means "being weird."

An adage that I find helpful: If everything you think happens to line up with the current platform of one of the political parties, then perhaps you aren't thinking at all.

> One of my "free thinker" ideas is that bed frames and box springs are mostly superfluous and a mattress on the ground is more comfortable and cheaper.

This is something every one realizes upon adulthood, then renounces it after judgement from parents and lovers.

I suspect this demonstrates your point.

Bed springs are alternative to the traditional mattresses that contain all kinds of fibers: cotton, wool, hair (horse hair, etc), feathers, hay, kapok, sea grass, etc. In fact, Bed springs are better than any natural fillings for support because these natural fillings compress quickly, some fillings shift. Tufting is a technique to fix the issue of shifting fibers. Pure wool/cotton mattresses need to be opened every year, and re-teased. Good springs (open coil or pocketed coils) are far better than any wool/cotton/hay support.

The modern mattress industry undermined this durability in pursuit of quick profit: springs became thinner and cheaper, and comfort layers were replaced with low-quality foams. That’s why today’s mattresses don’t last the way they used to.

To live freely is reward enough. We born alone, die alone, and in between, more loneliness. No reason to pretend that your friends and family will be there for you, or that their approval will save you. Playing their social games will not garner you much.

> bed frames and box springs are mostly superfluous and a mattress on the ground is more comfortable and cheaper.

This is basically a Japanese futon. The only con I can think of is the one the other commenter noted, about mold buildup in more humid climates, and that mattresses are usually built assuming a bit of "flex" from the frame+box spring so a mattress on a bare floor might be slightly firmer than you'd expect.

Oh OK you've convinced me, I'll just stop thinking and do whatever the crowd tells me to do!

> bed frames and box springs are mostly superfluous and a mattress on the ground is more comfortable and cheaper

I was also of this persuasion and did this for many years and for me the main issue was drafts close to the floor.

The key reason I believe though is mattresses can absorb damp so you wana keep that air gap there to lessen this effect and provide ventilation.

> getting up from a squat should not be difficult

Not much use if you’re elderly or infirm.

Other cons: close to the ground so close to dirt and easy access for pests. You also don’t get that extra bit of air gap insulation offered by the extra 6 inches of space and whatever you’ve stashed under there.

Other pros: extra bit of storage space. Easy to roll out to a seated position if you’re feeling tired or unwell

It’s good to talk to people about your crazy ideas and get some sun and air on that head cannon LOL

Futon’s are designed specifically for use case you have described so best to use one of those rather than a mattress which is going to absorb damp from the floor.

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