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Posts tagged quantified self

It’s a bracelet AND an attractive piece of jewelry!

It’s a bracelet AND an attractive piece of jewelry! published on No Comments on It’s a bracelet AND an attractive piece of jewelry!

This was inspired by a conversation I had with the brilliant CBC journalist and tech visionary Nora Young last June. We each spoke at the Fireworks Factory conference on Galiano Island (we’ve been on the same agenda once before, and I took maximum rhetorical advantage of it).

Afterward, I happened to notice a bracelet she was wearing. Naturally, as a Spark listener, I asked her what it did beyond, you know, braceletting. She maintained its mandate was limited to looking lovely (achievement unlocked!) and I took her at her word.

Part of me still suspects that while she was saying that, telemetry from the bracelet was being relayed to a HUD projected on the inside of her cornea, giving her a readout of my pulse, respiration and radio listening habits.

Rob as seen by Nora Young

(By the way, the character in the cartoon was originally based loosely on Nora, but early on my portraiture skills took a stroll somewhere. Do not attempt to pick her out of a crowd based on this cartoon. You will fail.)

One more thing: Nora Young’s book The Virtual Self: How Our Digital Lives Are Altering the World Around Us is terrific. Do check it out. And tune in to Spark!

The quantified self

The quantified self published on No Comments on The quantified self

This is what popped into my head the first time I heard about “the quantified self”. How hard can it be? I figured:

  1. Look into mirror.
  2. Conduct census of occupants.
  3. Done!

But once disabused of that notion, I realized the idea has a powerful appeal for me. I love chasing digital metrics as it is — pageviews, Twitter followers, Facebook Likes — and illustrating a book about measurement has only made that appetite grow.

So the prospect of applying the same principles to my own health that I’ve used to increase my Klout score is overwhelmingly tempting, and it’s only a matter of days before I get a Flex or an Up or a Basis or just have a netbook hot-glued onto my back which, judging by some of the prices at NCIX these days, may be the most economical option. (Plus, that’s a one-kilo weight I’ll use all day long to strengthen my lumbar muscles. Win!)

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