A non-fiction review? I know! I rarely review nonfiction. Perhaps because my work requires so much nonfiction reading, I want my ‘Me Reading’ to be fiction. Unlike some nonfiction books, Dear Data has to be read.
Usually my non-fiction tends towards biographies, or recently books about plant thieves (Mushroom Hunters, and the Orchid Thief). Dear Data is a sharp divergence from that. Data seems to drive our world. My own work is as much about the numbers as the the individual impacts. Dear Data is about how we generate behavior data.
Dear Data is the brain child of Giorgia Lupi, and Stefanie Posavec. They met at an art festival and realized they were living almost parallel lives. Because of those parallels: both moved to a foreign country, both are visual designers, with a shared love for drawing, and turning data into art, they decided they would make great friends. Becoming friends isn’t easy when your in the same city, drop an ocean between you, and its a whole new challenge.
With an ocean between them, they couldn’t grow their friendship through lunches, walks in the park, or social media. Instead of regular pen pals they decided to collect data about their daily habits, and draw a visual representation of that data on postcards. Each week for a year, with a new theme every week, they slowly got to know each other, and themselves. Bound together their year of data is a beautiful collection detailing a week in their life.
Sometimes the themes are innocuous:
How often do they look at a clock, or what their to – do list looks like over the week.
Sometimes the theme is a little heavier:
How often do they say thank you?
Who do they say thank you to?
How often do they complain?
What do they complain about.
Who do they complain to?
Personal data collection often focuses on media use. I can attest the importance of knowing the amount of time is spent on media. As important as, knowing how much media we consume is, it isn’t the beginning and end of mindfulness. In the forward is a partial quote from William James. I think the full quote is gives a better voice to the core of Dear Data.
“My experience is what I agree to attend to. Only those items which I notice shape my mind.”
William James
Turning the pages, it’s impossible to not grow a little introspective: How often do I complain?; How often do I have positive thoughts?; How often am I envious? If I am not attending to the habits of my behavior, do I know myself?
I like books that make me think. Books that make me think about my own character I like even more. Because it makes you think, Dear Data demands to be read. I’m not alone in my fascination. The swell of interest, has led to a Dear Data Journal, as well as, a postcard kit for personal data collection. The coolest thing, however, is how teachers are utilizing Dear Data in their classrooms.
