Personal Experiment Managers

I am into QS (Quantified Self). Analyzing data is a large part of my job and my skill set. So why not apply that skill to improving my health and happiness?

IMHO some of the biggest obstacles to using quantitative self are

• lousy user interface, non-HFIM, or stuff that must be manually recorded
• difficulty of fusing data collected in different ways It is always best if something can be automatically recorded, and then easily fused with other data for analysis

If you want to improve something,

1. observe/measure
2. look for correlations
3. develop hypotheses
4. run experiments

Steps two and three are about data analysis.

Step four is obviously about experiments.

But step one is also about "natural experiments".

If data is being automatically collected, you can accumulated and ideally in your copious spare time analyze it when you get around to it.

But if you are collecting manual data, you can collect too much. You have to limit yourselves only doing a few metrics at a time.

Similarly, if you are actually running experiments, in your real life, not necessarily blinded with controls, you can only do a few things at a time.

If you're into this, you want QS experiment manager: one that keeps track of the studies that you wish to do, the things you wish to improve, and helps you decide what to focus on measuring or doing at any point in time. and you don't necessarily do them contiguously. Certainly not for natural observations but even experiments where you choose the factors you do not necessarily want to do contiguously, because you might not want to run the risk of running an experiment for a week or a month and it making you horribly less productive. It might be better to run the experiment one day a week, for a year. less risky, although obviously it can't measure everything.

Example: Morton's neuroma footpads

• several years ago my doctor told me that pain I was experiencing in marathons was a Morton's neuroma.
• he told me that I should use a footpad to separate the bones and give space to the nerves.
• but he did not tell me what products to use.
• there are many, many, footpad products
• I spent more than a year going through a dozen such products, until I found a class of than that worked
• and within that class, several brands of differing costs and effectiveness

It isn't just a question of trying such a footpad and immediate seeing the benefit. Often times you only see the benefit over several days, varying workloads of exercise.

Example: toenail fungus

• I hope it doesn't close to any people out
• I suffer this, and I am exploring remedies ** over-the-counter medication ** prescription ** and hearsay old wives tales and DIY remedies *** e.g. soaking my feet in vinegar or Listerine

There are many OTC medications and several prescription approaches. All come with the caveat that they might take six months to a year to demonstrate effectiveness. Some medications have caveats about side effects like liver problems. Some are expensive, and it is unfortunate to spend a year or more trying medication to find out that it doesn't work.

Some of the home remedies like vinegar soaks are cheap and easy. Probably equally slow - toenails grow slowly - but a lot easier to justify.

Need to define a personal experimental protocol to rotate over what things work and don't work.