Category: Q & A

No.

Weight has too many unknown related variables to ascertain solely from checkin data. Guessing weight is usually dependent on identifying body type and height to a high degree of accuracy. That's how they do it at the county fair, anyway.

Apart from body type and height, metabolism and activity level would be required to track weight changes from checkin to checkin. Did I walk from my house to McDonalds, or drive? How would Foursquare ever know? Hrmmm… Perhaps, using something like the iPhone/Android location data caches, we could get a "transit speed" estimate, plus "route taken" data, then map that to the mode of travel – foot, bike, automobile, train, airplane, etc.

That still leaves out caloric intake/burn and activity level… Maybe I'm jumping rope on the ferry boat from Alameda to SF, or maybe I'm sitting on my ass having one of their fine cocktails and a bag of M&Ms. You could find out, with some combination of credit card purchase history, access to the onboard security cameras, or a device I wear to track motion/activity, like the FitBit.

But… What about metabolism? For that, unfortunately, we really do need a combination of the above data over time, plus weight data for at least some of the same period.

Which kinda breaks the whole thing – you need weight at point A and B, to even start to estimate weight at point C. And yes, if you did have a way to measure body type and height via those security cams, plus an accurate calorie count of foods consumed, that would possibly work. But then, you'd already have so much other data on hand, that the checkins themselves wouldn't add much insight into weight specifically.

I'm vastly oversimplifying things in a way that'll probably make me look like an idiot to an expert in personal data analytics… But, after doing a lot of research in this area (the company name is NaviDate, after all), I've come to the conclusion that checkin data is very valuable as a source of insight – just not about weight. Personality type, income level, or even gender prediction on the other hand… But that's another whole question. 😉

Would it be possible to build an app that makes a semi-accurate estimation of person's weight based on their Foursquare or Gowalla check-ins?

Most major world religions have successfully sold the "ultimate long term play" for at least 4000* years now.

* Republichristian estimate of the age of the Earth, as measured by counting the rings in a section of fossilized dinosaur saddle.

Which products successfully encourage long term benefit over short term temptations?

Whatever you do, track it.

Write down or photograph everything you eat. Keep a workout journal, etc… This single step outweighs every other single line tactic, since it allows you to have a constant measure across all the things you try, and to better understand over the long term, which things are working for you. I'd also recommend tracking anything but weight… Body fat, muscle mass, water intake, anything. Weight is the least reliable, since you can gain weight due to muscle gain, which still makes you healthier and more attractive than simply losing weight while, say, retaining the same amount of body fat.

What are the best one-liner principles for dieting and exercise?

An insufficient amount of oxygen present at the time of burning.

Why do people smoke?

The answer to the question asked is "when they are ready".

The real question that seems to be intended (or maybe I'm reading too much into it as a parent) is "when should I start worrying that my child isn't starting to recognize letters?", which may indicate some form of condition or learning disability that should be addressed as early as possible to give your child the best hope for a fruitful and enjoyable education.

The answer to that question is "when they start a focused course of study that requires letter recognition as a pre-requisite". Back in my day, preschool and pre-K were for kids from 3-5, with Kindergarten starting between 6-7. My daughter started her preschool just shy of 2.

Between the earlier onset of socialized education, and advanced in technology like the iPhone/iPad, kids are able to start toying with self-educational means much earlier. I wasn't all that shocked a few weeks back when I got up from my laptop in mid-Quora-answer, and came back a few minutes to notice that the middle of my answer was filled with my daughter's name repeatedly spelled out correctly – and she hasn't turned three yet.

Would I be worried if she couldn't identify the whole alphabet by now? No. I had peers in my kindergarten class who couldn't recognize basic words at 6, and most of them grew up to be very successful people. I'd say just try to enjoy the process as much as possible, try not to worry, and if they start really seeming to struggle while TRYING to learn something, bring it up to their teacher(s), or another parent of their peer/friend group. It's not a competition, after all.

At what age should my child be able to identify letters?