I first became aware of this term in connection with sport franchises, most notably the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are using mountains of data to track team performance.
Please don't ask how that's working for them.
Please don't ask how that's working for them.
This use of data is not restricted to the world of sports. In fact, statistics like those produced by EQAO psychometricians give the province of Ontario annual snapshots of how their young people are achieving at school.
It seems that this fascinaiion with numbers patterns has become a social phenomenon as millions of people have begun using tracking devices to digitally examine their personal lives. In fact, it has been estimated that 1 in 5 Americans plan to buy a fitness tracker in 2015.
According to a recent article in the Toronto Star by Mark Mann, one local blogger has taken self-tracking to a new level.
"She's broken her activities into 12 categories and more than 100 sub-categories, which allows her to create detaiiled annual reports and chart her behaviour on a grand scale. In 2014, she spent 2,071 hours on business, 1,559 hours on discretionary activities such as socializing and hobbies, 1,273 hours on personal activities like eating and exercising, and 3,220 hours sleeping."
The blogger even recorded how often she wore each article of clothing in her wardrobe.
Seems to me that Ignatius Loyola suggested a similar thing back in the 1500's when he put forward the idea of the Examen, a prayerful reflection on the events of one's day. However, I don't think analyzing how many times one changes outfits in a day was exactly what Loyola had in mind
When used properly, analytics can be a powerful tool. However, relying on external tracking devices to monitor our every move reminds me of the word selfie, not selfless.
It seems that this fascinaiion with numbers patterns has become a social phenomenon as millions of people have begun using tracking devices to digitally examine their personal lives. In fact, it has been estimated that 1 in 5 Americans plan to buy a fitness tracker in 2015.
According to a recent article in the Toronto Star by Mark Mann, one local blogger has taken self-tracking to a new level.
"She's broken her activities into 12 categories and more than 100 sub-categories, which allows her to create detaiiled annual reports and chart her behaviour on a grand scale. In 2014, she spent 2,071 hours on business, 1,559 hours on discretionary activities such as socializing and hobbies, 1,273 hours on personal activities like eating and exercising, and 3,220 hours sleeping."
The blogger even recorded how often she wore each article of clothing in her wardrobe.
Seems to me that Ignatius Loyola suggested a similar thing back in the 1500's when he put forward the idea of the Examen, a prayerful reflection on the events of one's day. However, I don't think analyzing how many times one changes outfits in a day was exactly what Loyola had in mind
When used properly, analytics can be a powerful tool. However, relying on external tracking devices to monitor our every move reminds me of the word selfie, not selfless.
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