img, .hide-comment-buttons #singleCommentHeader .formContainer >.title, .hide-comment-buttons #loginButtonContainer display: none; /* Expandable MPU fix */ #side .x300 overflow: visible!important; /* Collapsing Skyscraper fix */ .ad div.skyscraper height:auto!important;padding:0px!important; .ad div#mpu.skyscraper height:600px!important; David Sedaris: What I learnt from Fitbit about the world around me - Features - Health & Families - The Independent Wednesday 25 February 2015

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Bethnal Green girls Abortion The death of sex George Osborne Greece Michael Gove Life >Health & Families >Features David Sedaris: What I learnt from Fitbit about the world around me When the writer David Sedaris bought a fitness tracking band, he quickly surpassed the daily goal of 10,000 steps. Why? His Fitbit thought he could do better. Soon he was covering 25 miles a day, completely in thrall to the master strapped to his wrist. As he rambled on and on through West Sussex, he discovered things he had never noticed before - about the countryside and himself. David Sedaris Tuesday 02 September 2014
Print Your friend's email address Your email address Note: We do not store your email address(es) but your IP address will be logged to prevent abuse of this feature. Please read our Legal Terms & Policies A A A Email I was at an Italian restaurant in Melbourne, listening as a woman named Lesley talked about her housekeeper, an immigrant to Australia who earlier that day had cleaned the bathroom countertops with a bottle of very expensive acne medication: "She's afraid of the vacuum cleaner and can't read or write a word of English, but other than that she's marvellous."
Lesley works for a company that goes into developing countries and trains doctors to remove cataracts. "It's incredibly rewarding," she said as our antipasto plate arrived. "These are people who've been blind for years, and suddenly, miraculously, they can see again." She brought up a man who'd been operated on in a remote area of China. "They took off the bandages, and for the first time in two decades he saw his wife. Then he opened his mouth and said, 'You're so... old'. "
Lesley pushed back her shirtsleeve, and as she reached for an olive I noticed a rubber bracelet on her left wrist. "Is that a watch?" I asked.
"No," she told me. "It's a Fitbit. You sync it with your computer, and it tracks your physical activity." I leaned closer, and as she tapped the thickest part of it a number of glowing dots rose to the surface and danced back and forth. "It's like a pedometer," she continued. "But updated, and better. The goal is to take 10,000 steps per day, and, once you do, it vibrates."
I forked some salami into my mouth. "Hard?"
"No," she said. "It's just a tingle."
The FitBit: