Origin Story of Quantified Self: Exploring Personal Health and Wellness Data
Summary
The origin story of Quantified Self is the focus of this Q&A blog post between an expert and a questioner. The community was founded by individuals who had a shared interest in technology and personal improvement. Today, it has grown into a vast network of individuals and groups who come together to share their personal tracking methods and learn from others. The goal of the community is to enable individuals to generate their own questions and achieve personal growth through self-tracking.
Table of Contents
- The Founding of Quantified Self
- How the Community Works
- Tools for Self-Tracking
- Finding the Right Scale for Self-Evaluation
- Using AI to Make Tracking Easier
- The Future of Personal Tracking
- Coping with the Anxiety of Data
Introduction
The Quantified Self community has grown significantly over the years and has become a massive hub for people who want to take control of their health and wellness. The idea of tracking personal data is not new, but with the advent of technology, it has become a lot easier for individuals to collect and analyze data, leading to a newfound interest in the field. This Q&A post aims to explore the origin story of Quantified Self and offer insights into the community’s principles and practices.
The Founding of Quantified Self
Q: Can you tell us about the founding of Quantified Self and how it came to be?
A: The idea of Quantified Self was born out of the founders’ shared interest in technology and personal improvement. They wanted to explore how tracking personal data could help people better understand themselves and achieve their goals. The first official Quantified Self meetup took place in 2008 and was attended by just five people. From then on, the community grew, and hundreds of people started attending meetups regularly. Today, the community boasts thousands of members who come together to share their personal tracking methods and learn from others.
How the Community Works
Q: How does the Quantified Self community work, and what are its core principles?
A: The core principles of Quantified Self are based on understanding what tools people are using, how they are using them, and what they have learned from tracking their own data. The community encourages members to share their tracking practices and inform each other. People track various things like heart rate, heart rate variability, EMG, EE, EC, steps, activity level, sleep, social relationships, mood, and other things that people care about. There is tension between active and passive tracking, and finding the right scale for self-evaluation is crucial. The goal of the community is to enable individuals to generate their own questions and achieve personal growth through self-tracking.
Tools for Self-Tracking
Q: What are some of the tools people use for self-tracking?
A: People use a variety of tools to track their personal data, ranging from dedicated tracking devices to smartphone apps. Some popular options include fitness trackers, sleep trackers, heart rate monitors, and mood tracking apps. Additionally, people use various sensors to track other factors, such as air quality, temperature, and noise levels. The idea is to collect as much data as possible to better understand what factors affect personal health and wellness.
Finding the Right Scale for Self-Evaluation
Q: Is there a specific scale that people use to evaluate their self-tracking data?
A: Finding the right scale for self-evaluation is crucial, and many people find that a three-point scale is the most useful. Essentially, it involves rating personal data on a scale of 1-3, with 1 being low, 2 being medium, and 3 being high. While this may sound simplistic, it’s helpful for creating a baseline and seeing how data changes over time.
Using AI to Make Tracking Easier
Q: Is there a way to make self-tracking easier?
A: The cognitive load of tracking personal data can be an issue, but tools such as Artificial Intelligence can help alleviate some of the burden. Essentially, AI algorithms can automate data collection and analysis, allowing individuals to focus on interpreting the data rather than collecting it.
The Future of Personal Tracking
Q: What does the future hold for personal tracking?
A: The long term goal is to use sensors to develop new ways to hear our body, giving us a better understanding of ourselves. The hope is that by combining different types of data, such as medical records and environmental data, we can better understand the factors that affect personal health and wellness.
Coping with the Anxiety of Data
Q: Can tracking personal data be anxiety-inducing?
A: People are concerned about the anxiety that comes with numbers and data, but the long term direction is to bury the quantification aspect of the data while still generating data for use. By focusing on data interpretation rather than data collection, individuals can avoid feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data they’re tracking.
Conclusion
The Quantified Self community has grown significantly over the years, and its principles and practices are gaining popularity among people who want to take control of their personal health and wellness. While the field of self-tracking is still in its early days, the hope is that it will continue to evolve, leading to new insights into personal health and wellness.
