Abstract
Swan argues quantified self practice disrupts traditional science — personal data streams enable prediction and discovery outside classic lab pipelines.
Swan, M. (2013). Big Data, 1(2), 85–99. DOI
Key findings
- Personal data streams — Continuous self-tracking creates high-resolution behavioural datasets.
- Prediction shift — N-of-1 patterns enable individual forecasting, not only population averages.
- Science disruption — Citizen data can pose new hypotheses faster than institutional studies.
- Privacy tradeoff — Deep tracking carries consent and ownership questions — not tech-only win.
Limits
2013 Big Data review — field moved fast; some claims dated.
Application
When your dashboard piles numbers — ask what prediction or experiment you run, not only collection. See Quantified Self.