“When our observations about ourselves are formally collected, rather than just remembered, it’s easier to get advice and comment, and to improve our reasoning with the help of others. ‘Remember kids, the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down,’ said Adam Savage of Mythbusters. Technology helps us write it down.” – Ernesto Ramirez, […]
Quantified Self
The e is for engagement
What if we redefined the Quantified Self movement to include everyone who keeps a pair of “skinny jeans” in their closet? What if the 85% of U.S. adults who own a cell phone understood that it’s potentially a tool for health tracking? What if everyone designing health care tools first talked with patients and caregivers […]
Unpacking self-tracking
One of the “top tweets” of this week’s Health Datapalooza was one I dashed off on my way to the event: 1 in 4 U.S. internet users track their own health data online – @pewinternet pewrsr.ch/khtiMB #healthdata — SusannahFox (@SusannahFox) June 5, 2012 It was great to see how this research tidbit was treated like […]
What’s the future for self-tracking?
Stephen Wolfram’s essay, The Personal Analytics of My Life, begins: “One day I’m sure everyone will routinely collect all sorts of data about themselves.” A Pew Internet survey suggests we have a long way to go: a September 2010 survey found that 27% of internet users age 18+ track their own health data online. There […]
Peer-to-peer Healthcare: Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Obvious.
Here’s my simple definition of peer-to-peer healthcare: Patients and caregivers know things — about themselves, about each other, about treatments — and they want to share what they know to help other people. Technology helps to surface and organize that knowledge to make it useful for as many people as possible. An idea whose time […]
The Decision Tree: What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Long Life–Susannah Fox
Warning: Do not read The Decision Tree unless you’re ready to make some kind of change in your life. Thomas Goetz catalogs the recent advances (and setbacks) in medicine & personal health, but also maps out the possibilities for how things could get better. He does this so convincingly that you can’t believe it’s not already taking […]
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