Following my last medical checkup, I had some bloodwork done. Once the results were available, my next order of business was clear: find out if the numbers were good numbers.

So I found myself Googling things like “good triglyceride levels” and “healthy LDL”.

We are swimming in a sea of data. And if we’re going to look, then it’s important to understand what the numbers mean.

But the other important thing is to not get overwhelmed by all the data. There are some numbers we could safely ignore forever — medical or otherwise — and still live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives.

After all, many of the best things in life are impossible to quantify.