I’ve been wrestling with how to frame ThoughtCounter. Initially, there were two threads – creating a direct contemplative experience and critiquing wellness capitalism. But when I drafted the first deck, something felt off.
It risked coming across as a bit preachy, like I was trying to demonstrate something from a higher place.
After stepping back for a few days and meditating on it, I wondered how much research actually exists about how many thoughts we have per day?
The answer surprised me as there are very few studies. And the claims that do exist vary wildly – from 6,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day.
More interesting was the fact that the 60,000 figure has been debunked – no one can trace it to an original scientific source. Yet these numbers have been widely circulated online, treated as fact.
This felt really significant – our thoughts command so much of our lives, yet the data is sparse and unreliable.
As a result, it felt natural to shift ThoughtCounter towards a collaborative investigation. Moving from “here’s my critique” to “let’s actually look” – which is more genuinely contemplative and potentially more engaging for participants.
We investigate this together – collecting real data, examining our experience as a community, and present what we find.
I’ve drafted an updated deck and shared it with a couple of friends today. Ben loved the concept of encouraging people to put awareness on their thoughts. He also had some pushback on the product selling for £300 which he said undermines the good nature of it all.
Summary of new direction
- Can we prove/disprove what the researchers claim? (6k-60k thoughts/day)
- How? Using ThoughtCounter
- Installation
- Website (potentially hundreds of participants)
- Post participation questionnaire
- Questionnaire results are visualised
- Real data set I can analyse and publish
- It’s now an important piece of research, not just artist making a point
Key points/questions
- Need more first hand experience – use ThoughtCounter myself for a few weeks and document results
- Test the duration. Maybe offer tiered online? 1/5/10 mins
- Is the LED visualisation necessary? Does it really add to the experience or it’s just aesthetics?
- Never explain the satire behind the £300 product – let people draw their own conclusions.
- Consider making the product site fully functional (phase 2)
- If people buy, actually ship the device
- Document who buys it and why
- Let the work exist in both worlds simultaneously