Math is everywhere… Believe it or not, Some people are obsessed with numbers with a reason. Let me briefly share my reason to consume myself with personal data from my electronic devices.
Unfortunately, my family background has many medical issues such as cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure. With being cognizant of these issue, I am more conscience and proactive in managing my numbers such as blood pressure, heart rate, and weight. Both of my parents did not live to see seventy. So as a personal mission, this is my motivation to live and eat healthy. Motivation to get my hind parts off the couch or out of the bed and hit the pavement/gym towards meeting my fitness goals.
I am not alone with tracking data to meet personal objectives. There is a movement called the quantitative self where individuals use electronic devices to monitor their own data and get meaning out of it. The devices that I am currently using are Nike Plus Nano, FitBit Force and the Withings digital scale/body analyzer. This is by no means a substitute of a real doctor. However, what I am doing allows me to be self informed and aware of my biological performance. So when I go to the doctor, I can have an intelligent, informed conversation about my health.
Before I go, let me recommend a really cool website by Microsoft called HealthVault that allows you to curate your health vitals and make goals which is only the beginning of this quantitative self movement.
Mr. R's Blogspot 2.0 