Crowd sourcing science

"In science, politics, medicine and many other spheres, data is routinely collected to fine-tune performance. The realm that has so far evaded the cult of numbers is our personal lives. The idea of someone keeping spreadsheets of data on their mood, health, diet, physical location, personal productivity and sleep patterns might in the past have attracted a certain amount of scorn.
That is changing and fast, if the self-quantifying vanguard is to be believed. Smartphones are already packed with sensors, from cameras and GPS to accelerometers and gyroscopes. A growing range of cheap consumer gadgets aimed specifically at self-trackers is being launched... "


http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/dec/02/psychology-human-biology