On tracking

Old keyboard

We have “spoiled” everyday life. By “we,” I mean positivist/technology/engineer-minded individuals who tend to measure everything—calories, watts, kilometers, GPS and sleep cycles, as well as song counts, video subscriptions, or minutes spent on a mobile app. What types of food did we log? What does the heart rate monitor show about the variation of our heart rate when we are at rest?

We have “spoiled” everyone, not because we caused all of this, but because we have been the main advocates of this new paradigm. I still remember starting every day with a run, partly because of the new GPS-enabled smartphone that could track it.

The main flaw seems to be that we believe we can control our lives. In this new paradigm of data-driven living, we measure to predict the future. We have difficulty accepting that some things happen randomly or accidentally, without following a predictable pattern. Moreover, we miss the point that these events could have the biggest impact on our lives.

I could never understand phrases like “the magic of life,” but this linear way of thinking surely leads to a blunt, mundane life that is not worth living. Having said that, I don’t mean that I’ll stop using my phone or using algorithms to help me optimize my music stream—at least not completely. But I’m more open to admitting that this data-driven-only life is not a life I would imagine for myself or the society I’m part of.

#notes

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