Remember my Time Diary Self-Experiment?  Only 41 people responded, so I take the feedback with a grain of salt.  Still, both of my predictions were correct.  To refresh your memory, I asked respondents to repeatedly ask themselves:

1. Was my experience during the last hour noticeably better as a result of an innovation introduced from 1990-present? [Yes/No]

2. Was my experience during the last hour noticeably better as a result of an innovation introduced from 1950-1989? [Yes/No]

Then:

Once you’re done, code “yes”=1 and “no”=0.  Then calculate your average scores, and report them on quicksurveys.

My predictions:

1. The median response for question #1 will be at least .15.

2. The median response for question #2 will be no more than three times as high as the median response for question #1.

The median response for both questions was 1!  The typical respondent claimed that every single waking hour was “noticeably better” as a result of innovations from both the 1950-1989 and the 1990-present eras.  I’m tempted to claim vindication, but my honest reaction is that respondents didn’t take the time diary approach very seriously.  Life has improved a lot, but if you spent your last hour reading a (conventional book) or taking a (tech-free) stroll, it’s hard to see how your experience is noticeably better than it would have been in 1949.

Anyone who answered “1” care to defend your answer?