
The Data-Driven Life - iamwil
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/magazine/02self-measurement-t.html?hp=&pagewanted=all
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karzeem
Even a little data is really useful. I recently learned that my LDL and
triglycerides are a little higher than optimal. When that happens, your doctor
tells you something like "exercise more" or "don't pig out on carbs and
saturated fats".

That's the kind of sound but vague advice that people are really good at doing
exactly nothing with. But as luck would have it, I've been counting calories
with a web app for the past six months. I went back and saw that on a typical
day, 55% of my calories came from carbs, which is known to increase LDL and
triglycerides levels.

Telling someone, "You know how DailyBurn says you're getting 55% of your
calories from carbs? At the end of each day, I want that number at 33%
instead" is so much more effective that it's a wonder people who don't have
this data can manage at all.

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hokkos
Which web app ?

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hackerblues
Daily burn?

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karzeem
Yeah. Haven't looked into too many others.

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albertsun
No mention of Nicholas Felton? <http://feltron.com/>

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floodfx
agree - his annual reports are beautiful...

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dave1619
Wow, just looked at his reports. They are pretty insane.

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hristov
I don't know if I am the only one but I find this idea incredibly depressing.
For some reason, the thought of measuring myself, and meticulously keeping
track of everything I do really really depressing. I do not know if it is
because it reminds me of the shortness of life or because it seems to limit my
freedom.

Of course as a lawyer I do have to track the time I work for clients, and that
(and the associated issues that come with it) is probably one of the things I
really dislike about this profession.

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Kadin
Far be it from me to question anything about your life, and that is truly not
my intent, but your comment does make me wonder a little what it is you think
would be depressing about having that information?

If it's just that the act of collecting the data seems like a waste of time, I
can readily accept that. (That's why I don't do any of it; it seems
interesting, but most of the systems seem like they're not transparent enough
to the user. Yet.)

But if it's that the data itself would be depressing ... The data to me would
just be a mirror. If you don't like what you see, and you have the capability
of doing something about it, that strikes me as a better solution, in the long
run, than just avoiding the mirror.

To each their own though. The article does mention someone who decided after
doing a lot of personal metrics for a while to stop doing it, and some of the
reasons they had for that decision. It's clearly not for everyone.

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Psyonic
For me, its completely the time spent collecting it. If I could get all that
data with no energy or attention spent towards it, I'd be all for it.

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floodfx
I've been reading about "Quantified Self" on kk.org for a while. I didn't
realize it was actually Gary Wolf and others writing a lot of the content.
Pretty interesting stuff...

One simple idea is to have an API to enable easy collection of quantified self
data as well as to consume it. Thought about it myself at one point but I am
not passionate about it.

Daytum (<http://daytum.com/>) has a nice webapp but no API...

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drats
The effort of collecting and recording all this data must be huge. And without
proper experiment design it's not really worth it (was it going off coffee or
his other simultaneous efforts?).

I already know I procrastinate too much on reddit, I don't need a graph really
(or maybe graph it for a week to shock myself, but no more). Reading medical
and psychology journals with properly designed tests would be much more
beneficial. I know people like to think they are unique snowflakes, but in
reality the effect of coffee or fish oil on people is going to be pretty much
the same. And journal articles point out if there are groups that are
different anyway. This is just OCD channeled into something partially useful.

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drallison
I don't find may life so interesting that I would want to take the time and
effort to record every event for later reflection. I'd rather to remember
things imperfectly. Isn't the need to for a record ones life like this
obsessive compulsive behavior?

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Gormo
Collecting data gives you the ability to aggregate past events, look at them
statistically, and uncover patterns that may be counter-intuitive or just not
apparent when looking at each event independently.

You can then use this knowledge to develop heuristics and rulesets that you
can apply to better live your life. For example, maybe you discover that when
you eat a banana, you get a surge of energy ~30 minutes later that lasts for
~1 hour. Now you know that when you need an hour's worth of energy, you can
eat a banana a half-hour before.

That's a pretty simple example, but if you analyze various aspects of your
life, you can gain much better control over it.

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Psyonic
That's not simple at all. You'd need to be analyzing your energy levels
constantly to figure out things like that. Sounds like the life of a diabetic,
testing his blood sugar every half hour. That's usually considered a downside.

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Kadin
I have a friend who has diabetes and uses a glucometer. He doesn't test every
half hour (more like a few times a day, maybe every 4-5 hrs?). The data is
actually fairly interesting.

I wouldn't want to have to poke myself in the fingers a few times a day to get
it, but if there were a non-invasive way to do it, it'd be pretty interesting.
You can learn a lot about how what you eat affects your body just by watching
that number change over time.

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Psyonic
I also have a diabetic friend, and yes, I was exaggerating. I suppose I should
be careful, as its probably not obvious enough that everyone would realize I
was. I agree the information is interesting, but the collecting is a huge
hassle. That's my problem with this whole thing. If I go on a day-hike, I
don't want to be pulling out my notebook constantly to report my energy
levels. It kills the experience, makes it more about me than nature or the
hike itself.

As I said in another comment, if I could passively collect all this
information, it'd be great to have, but I feel like the cost of collecting it
outweighs its usefulness in most cases. But I'll certainly grant you that the
equation varies per person.

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ganjianwei
I recently wrote an iPhone app that lets you time how long you take to do
routine activities. It's at <http://www.ganjianwei.com/iphone/weiwatch/>

Interesting how I never thought of how it fit into this bigger concept of
using data in your personal life, especially how such quantification might
take something away from our imperfect judgment, which is what makes us feel
human.

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Sukotto
Interesting that I'm reading this on 4/28 but the article's timestamp is 5/2.
Did they publish early by mistake?

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hakan
No, it's a preview of an article appearing in this upcoming Sunday's NY Times
Magazine (5/2). Bottom of the page reads: "A version of this article appeared
in print on May 2, 2010, on page MM38 of the Sunday Magazine."

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count
I love the past tense for a future event.

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roofone
So will I.

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phob
"Global superintelligence known as the cloud"... Really?

