Quantifiable self: Measuring is knowing?
Posted on July 27, 2017 • 3 min read • 559 words
In IT it is very common to want to measure everything that is loose and fixed. If you know what’s happening, you can at least manage it, right? The same also applies to us humans. The more we measure, the more we can adjust. If you know how much or little you exercise, you could choose to exercise more. If you know what you eat and how it affects your weight or your energy, you can make a different decision next time. Eating something different, for example. They call it quantifiable self.
In 2007, the term was first used by Gary Wolf and Kevin Kelly. They saw that more and more people were measuring all kinds of personal things. People shared the measurement data via social media. Gary and Kevin called this phenomenon quantifiable self. It turns out that more and more people are doing this, this ‘self-tracking’; They keep track of their weight, how much they exercise and what they eat every day. They keep track of their heart rate and blood pressure. They even want to measure the time of going to bed and getting up. With the right resources and apps, this gives a good picture of what you do and how well you do it compared to a benchmark. And once you know what you are doing and how it relates to a benchmark, you can take action. For example, you notice that you weigh yourself every day on a [Nokia scale]( https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=49599&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fnl%2Fp%2Fnokia-body-cardio-full- body-composition-wifi-personal-scale-white%2F9200000079022138%2F&name=Nokia%20Body%20Cardio%20Full%20Body%20Composition%20WiFi%20P…) that you have gained a little weight. Because you have also registered what you have eaten, with a little common sense you can determine what caused the increase (or increase). Those three pizzas might not have been so useful after all.
Measuring is knowing
If you want to do something about your weight, or habits, or just want to know how things are going, measuring is a great thing. Because the feedback is fast, you can also intervene quickly. It’s like speeding tickets. When you receive it after a maximum of two weeks, you generally remember where you were and why you were in a hurry. If you only receive the fine after a month or two, you usually have no idea why. This also works the same with the feedback from all resources that measure something about you. If you only look at how things are going after a week or two, you don’t know what you need to change to achieve a different result. When you receive immediate feedback, you remember what you ate, what you did, or not. This allows you to take action quickly.
Smart devices
There are all kinds of smart devices that you can use to measure yourself. I just gave the [scale]( https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=49599&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fnl%2Fp%2Fnokia-body-cardio-full -body-composition-wifi-personal-scale-white%2F9200000079022138%2F&name=Nokia%20Body%20Cardio%20Full%20Body%20Composition%20WiFi%20P…) already on, but there are also smart rings, [smart watches]( https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=49599&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fnl%2Fp%2Fapple-watch-series-2-42m m-gray-alu-case-with-black-sport-band%2F9200000065170626%2F&name=Apple%20Watch%20Series%202%20-%2042mm%20gray%20alu%20case%20met…), but also [smart thermometers]( https://partner.bol.com/click/click?p=2&t=url&s=49599&f=TXL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bol.com%2Fnl%2Fp%2Fnokia-thermo-s mart-temporal-thermometer-for-body%2F9200000079022162%2F&name=Nokia%20Thermo%20-%20Smart%20Temporal%20Thermometer%20for…). You can’t think of anything crazy, but you can measure it. Your car knows where you are and how fast you are driving. From this you could conclude your state of mind. This combined with the heart rate monitor in your smart watch could advise you to spend some time during the afternoon doing yoga or breathing exercises. This helps you keep your body and mind healthy. In other words: The following also applies in this case: Measuring is knowing.
