Remake 063. Chris Dancy: The Opposite of Unplugged
Chris Dancy is known as "the Most Connected Man on Earth". Chris is a TED speaker and the author of Don't Unplug: How Technology Saved My Life and Can Save Yours Too. He was featured on Showtime's Dark Net, the cover of Businessweek, and interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, NPR, the BBC, Fox News, and Wired.
Chris entered the public dialogue concerning digital health as the media started to focus on wearable technology. He earned his "Most Connected" moniker by utilizing up to 700 sensors, devices, applications, and services to track, analyze, and optimize his life, from his caloric intake to his spiritual well-being. This quantification enabled him to see the connections of otherwise invisible data, resulting in dramatic upgrades to his health, productivity, and quality of life.
Today, he's a noted keynote speaker and executive workshop retreat facilitator, and guides organizations and audiences on a journey — a disruptive, breathtaking journey — into the future of computing, when behavior becomes the ultimate interface.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this conversation we talk about:
- How he used technology to gain a measure of control and process childhood trauma.
- How he found his way into self-tracking, and became the world's Most Connected Man.
- What it means to be connected at all times, with over 700 devices and services tracking every behavior and activity into a personal database.
- Why he believes recording our personal histories is worth doing.
- How he categorizes activities and makes sense of them.
- What he discovered from looking at this trove of data.
- The outsized importance of sufficient light, pleasant soundscapes, and rest.
- Receipts as a spiritual instrument.
- And his version of technopaganism, bringing ancient rituals and modern technology together.
This conversation is one of a dozen or so weekly conversations we already have lined up for you with hackers, designers, thinkers, authors, entrepreneurs, and activists who are working to change our world for the better. So follow this podcast on your favorite podcast app, or head over to RemakePod.org to subscribe.
And now, let's jump right in with Chris Dancy.
TIMESTAMP CHAPTERS
[4:40] Life in the Present
[7:51] Early Childhood Trauma
[10:37] A Means of Escape
[13:11] A Journey to "Most Connected"
[18:12] Collections of Data
[22:43] An Inventory of the System
[25:41] The Value of Tracking
[28:16] The Value of Perspective
[30:33] The Importance of Small Things
[38:33] Don't Unplug
[42:25] The Optimization Game
[47:06] What is Technopaganism?
[51:00] Adopted Rituals
[56:44] A Short Sermon on Death
EPISODE LINKS
- Chris' Links
- 🌎 Chris Dancy Website
- 📘 Don't Unplug: How Technology Saved My Life and Can Save Yours Too
- ✍️ Chris Dancy - Medium
- 🌎 Village of Fonda, NY
- 🎤 TED Talk
- 📷 Instagram: Instagram Profile
- 💼 LinkedIn: LinkedIn Profile
- 📣 Twitter: @chrisdancy
- 📺 YouTube Channel
- Other Links
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