Playing with Metrics: Self-tracking as Personal Science

Btihaj Ajana is delivering an online keynote for the 13th Annual Congress of the Swiss Society of Sport Science.

Abstract: In this talk, I discuss the ways in which Quantified Self practices and their data driven approach can be considered as “personal science,” a term first introduced by Martin and Brouwer in early 1990s and recently adopted by the Quantified Self community to describe its self-tracking activities and objectives. In doing so, I revisit some relevant arguments put forward by the philosopher, Hans-Georg Gadamer, vis-à-vis the value of the personal and hermeneutic dimension to understanding aspects of health and appreciating the limits of traditional medical methods and their generalising approach. Drawing on relevant examples, I discuss how self-tracking can be seen, at once, as a way of reclaiming autonomy and control over one’s health and physical activity as well as a form of outsourcing decision-making to technology itself. This discussion leads me to differentiate between active and passive self-tracking, and between members of the Quantified Self circle who build their own tools and the general users who rely on the commercial tech solutions available on the market. Ultimately, I suggest that the Quantified Self community can act as a “guru” for mainstream self-trackers by nurturing a critical and inclusive approach to technological development and use, which can enable users to be involved in the means of production and become experts rather than just users.

More information available on: https://wp.unil.ch/congres4s2022/program/?lang=en