“To measure is to know” and “If you can’t measure it, you can not improve it”
Wise words, indeed, from Lord Kelvin, the early 19th century mathematical physicist .
As someone who changed his life by tracking data (read my debut BJSM Blog ) this is the sort of confirmation bias that I cling to when I read articles, like this one , which cites research that implies that the more we track an activity, the less we will enjoy it.
With Lord Kelvin’s quotes fuelling my stance, I was ready to quickly dismiss the idea that tracking physical activity could be anything but a great idea.
And then, I remembered one of Lord Kelvin’s less celebrated quotes :
“ X– rays will prove to be a hoax”.
Whoa, if he could be so wrong about x – rays (they also changed my life ), what else did he get wrong ?
So, I read the story further and I considered if my tracking of steps, pace, distance, calories and even heart rate had become an addiction and even a chore?