Forty three (iii)

“Have you heard of the Quantified Self?” he asked us all. Nope.

“It’s about using technology to record data about your personal life in terms of inputs such as what you eat and drink, states such as mood or heart rate, and mental and physical performance. Only by recording the data can we spot correlations that might prove useful if they turn out to be cause and effect. Only by sharing personal data sets with others can we attempt to find wider patterns.”

“Ah yes,” said Yvonne, “one of my friends wears a wristband that records stuff and uploads it to her phone I believe.”

“So that might tell her how well she’s sleeping for example, and she can ascertain what factors in the way she lives affect her quality of sleep,” Saket replied. “Then, if she’s having trouble sleeping, instead of masking the problem with sleeping pills, she can adjust the way she lives to sleep better naturally.”

“And you’re saying you can treat an organization just the same?” I asked.

“Yes. This takes us back to big data and your conversations with John and your friend Dom. Only by gathering as much data together as possible can we spot, or rather have software spot patterns we wouldn’t otherwise know about.”

“So is this contradicting the idea of organizational synapses?” I asked.

“It’s not yet entirely clear to me, but I think there are ways in which they complement rather than contradict.”