The (often) false promise of personal fitness data

11/11/24 • 39 min

Science journalist and athlete Christie Aschwanden takes us inside the not-so-scientific world of the fitness and health data that's tracked by various apps we probably own and/or are tempted to buy, and she helps us more carefully discern what's actually useful to follow and what we're better off ignoring. Plus -- an existentially (and scientifically!) important discussion about the power of uncertainty (and why it doesn't have to feel bad).

Christie's Scientific American podcast is Uncertain. Her book is Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn About the Strange Science of Recovery. You can read more about her and by here on her website.

Follow AJR, your host, at @jonesrooy on Instagram and find out more here.

Behind the Data is a podcast that uncovers the hidden stories within the data shaping our world. From political polls to global happiness trackers, we dive into the datasets that influence the decisions we make—while showing you why data isn’t just numbers, but a way to understand the world. Whether you're a data newbie or a seasoned pro, each episode makes complex data approachable, revealing surprising insights and the human side of every dataset. Come for the discoveries, stay for the stories.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Follow AJR, your host, at @jonesrooy on Instagram and find out more here.

We are proud to be part of the Daily Tech News Show network of podcasts.

Subscribe and leave a review!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Super cool data about movies (that are not reviews!)

When we think of data and movies the first (and maybe only) thing that comes to mind for many of us is movie reviews. But there is so much more we can learn about movies and ourselves if we just think outside the box a little bit and apply data and scientific thinking in creative ways. We talk with Walt Hickey, author of the book You Are What You Watch: How TV and Movies Affect Everything, about all kinds of exciting applications of data to track how movies affect us physically and emotionally, the value of exporting (and importing) culture internationally, whether superpowers predict evilness, how the plots of many movies have changed over time, why we like what we like, and how movies can change our entire life trajectory. Plus, prepare to learn why we should all watch Titanic again, as well as maybe consider (gasp) ignoring reviews of movies altogether.

Relevant materials and links mentioned:

Buy Walt's book
Subscribe to Numlock
Check out Sherwood News
More about Walt
Follow Walt on X

Next Episode

What data does your doctor collect about you?

Dr. Steven Novella, clinical neurologist and host of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast joins us to share how he collects and analyzes data when he works with patients (there is so much more going on than I realized!) as well as how AI can hopefully improve the practice of medicine if we get it right. It's a longer episode than usual, but I hope you'll agree it's well worth it.

Follow Steve:

https://www.theskepticsguide.org/

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/

https://theness.com/neurologicablog/

Follow Andrea:

https://www.jonesrooy.com/ and @jonesrooy on socials.

We are proud to be part of the Daily Tech News Show network of podcasts.

Subscribe and leave a review!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.