'Quantified selves' run amok in Orange County, California

gimlet-eyeThe Gimlet Eye is often amazed at the pursuits of those who are reaching for, or have reached, the heights of academe and the outer limits of research. For instance, in this recent article originating in the part of the US where, Frank Lloyd Wright said, the loose bits roll to a much needed rest, the Quantified Self has replaced rocket science, astrophysics or even algorithms which can calculate Apple’s stock price in 2014. A doctoral candidate at UC San Diego is a community organizer for quantifiedself.com, which organizes mix-ups (ah, the writer must mean Meetups) and conferences for people with the yen to pick, poke and measure their very selves. An astrophysicist at Calit2 tracks every minute of his life–sleep with Zeo, steps and activity with FitBit, exercise with a heart rate monitor–plus one other thing which makes the Eye roll. (Hint: its analysis took a 35GB file) And his fellow researchers at UC Irvine…