Why is this interesting? - The Quantified Self Edition

Quick note before we get into today’s edition. We’re actively trying to grow the WITI community of intellectual omnivores, but we want to do so in the right way. Please share if you have a Slack group in your office or department or simply want to forward it to one friend. Noah and I would greatly appreciate the support. - Colin (CJN) 

Colin here. When the entire quantified-self movement started emerging in the mid-2000s, I wrote the first wave off as a bit nerdy. The Tim Ferriss-style obsessive optimization and testing just seemed a bit too on the nose for my taste. As the tech has gotten better and less obtrusive, however, I’ve started to come around. Since October, I’ve been wearing an Oura device, which looks like a discrete looking ring but gives you some interesting information: From their site: 

The Oura ring registers your body temperature reading every minute while you sleep. By comparing that value to values from earlier nights, it indicates your body temperature baseline and any variations from it. (ii) It measures blood volume pulse directly from the palmar arteries of the finger. (iii) Detects the amplitude and intensity of your body movement, automatically recognizes that you’re active and tracks the time you were inactive during the day.

The result is a pretty good picture of daily activity and, more importantly to me, a deep understanding of both my sleep and recovery based on things like resting heart rate, movement (which can help determine REM), heart rate variability, and their “recovery index” which gives a ballpark of how “ready” you are on any given day. 

I’ve learned a lot from it, namely how disruptive long haul travel is on the body and the effect of alcohol on sleep. WITI contributor and Axios correspondent Felix Salmon recently shared the same sentiment, tweeting: “I’ve been wearing a Fitbit watch for a couple of months, and the main benefit has legit surprised me. I’m not trying to maximize steps or calories or anything like that, I’m trying to maximize my sleep score. And that, in turn, has caused me to start drinking less.”

Why is this interesting? 

The insight here is that even though you know something is true (booze is bad for sleep), when you see the data day-by-day, it nudges you to improve, ultimately leading to more meaningful behavior change. And while Goodhart’s law suggests that any measure we focus too much attention on will eventually become counter-productive as we try to game the system, there are plenty of other numbers that will continue to provide a counter-balance.

This self-aware quantification movement is bubbling up in culture: I’ve been noticing more and more people turn these scores into social signals. You see people posting their stats from Whoop, the wristband that quantifies activity, as a bit of a humblebrag or to show their level of recovery before competing. Instead of “hustle harder,” it seems recovery is the new flex. Indeed, sleep has become front-and-center in culture thanks to people trying to sell books or new intellectual platforms (Arianna Huffington) or brands trying to find loftier strategic positioning (Casper). But the new wave of discrete technology is allowing people to make tangible, measurable improvements. Which can be life-changing. (CJN)

Chart of the Day:

From the Economist: The wealthiest countries have the fewest road deaths. The Arab world is an exception. (CJN)

Quick Links:

• Photos of Wuhan under quarantine (CJN) 

• How to misinform yourself about the Coronavirus (CJN) 

• George III's collection of military maps (CJN) 

Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN)

Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).