This year, I’m even more committed to learning about the changes to global media and what could be coming around the bend. What will be the effect of AI on social media as well as traditional media? Are we tired of talking about AI yet, and we’ll lean into our creativity and imperfections to counterbalance this technology? I’m aware that I need my critical thinking cap on for everything I read. I’m asking, “What is being said? What isn’t being said? Why did they choose that particular word?”

I find it difficult to balance open-mindedness and critical thinking while reading, both online and in books. Sometimes, looking deeper is fun and stimulating. Other times, it’s tiring because I also read for relaxation. But it’s this practice of gathering information and other perspectives, refracting through my own experience and looking for commonalities and differences, that is where I have the best chance of sense-making.

History being Helpful

Overall, I’m thankful for the foundation of my history degree, as it feels like history is looping around and we’re seeing present-day versions of challenges that humanity has seen before. What I’ve learned as a student of history is that we’ve been at flashpoints of change before, and it will certainly happen again. We are facing multiple challenges at scale right now; challenges like combating climate change will require innovative thinking, but there is wisdom in history from other eras that have witnessed and overcome environmental challenges. And upholding democracy for the future needs our attention once again.

I’m asking myself what I can do; I have more experience than I did when I was younger, and I have energy to take action. I want to see the world progress and eliminate challenges so we can all live in peace, health, and prosperity. There is so much impressive knowledge out there, from past and present thinkers, artists, and writers. I hope to soak up as much of that as I can for hope and actionable wisdom.

Reading Goals Review

All that to say, my reading vibes for 2026 are:

• Combatting Climate Change and transitioning to green energy
• Media, ethics, and democracy (again)
• Civic engagement, resistance, and resilience.
• History of countries I hope to visit, as well as past environmental challenges.
• Literary translations – I’m yearning to experience “culture shock” in 2026, and I think the ideas shared from writers in other cultures, not close to North America, will get me there.

My reading life in 2025 was focused on:

• Reimagined Futures
• Science & Technology
• Media, ethics, and information systems
• Democracy and civic involvement
• Translations

As I perused the book titles, I managed to read at least one book on each of these topics. My most-read was science fiction with themes of reimagined futures and science & technology. I leaned heavily on Ursula K. Le Guin’s wisdom and read 4 of her works in 2025.

Diversity Report

This year, I read quite similarly to last year in terms of diversity. Many of my titles covered multiple regions or topics, which I feel reflects our interconnected world. 

• North America – 17
• Russia & Central Asia – 1
• Europe – 10
• South & Central America – 1
• Middle East & North Africa – 1
• Sub-Saharan Africa – 0
• East Africa – 0 
• East Asia – 1 
• South Asia – 0
• Southeast Asia & Australia – 2
• Indigenous Peoples – 2
• 2SLGTBQI+ – 2
• Equity-denied Peoples – 10
• Environmental Issues – 2
• Space – 3

I’m embarrassed that I have again not read any works from Africa, which would undoubtedly provide the cultural learnings that I want in 2026. North American publishing does not make it easy to discover authors from African countries. However, there are publishers who are undertaking translation projects, and I’m pleased to see this article about African author translations in The Conversation from August 2025.

What Did I Learn

Well, four Ursula K. Le Guin books probably have more knowledge in them than I’ve gained in my lifetime. I have always held on to the idea that the books you read 5 years ago inform who you are today. It’s going to take me a while to grasp everything she shared in “Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places” – but it was so, so wonderful.

My favourite essays were:

• The Fisherwoman’s Daughter
• Where Do You Get Your Ideas From?
• The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction

I learned a lot about the politics and systems in Silicon Valley and the tech world from Cory Doctorow. I read a couple of the books in his “Martin Hench novels” series. Both were fast-paced, and I learned a ton about cryptocurrency and the history of Silicon Valley’s beginnings. A fun way to learn, as these novels are financial crime mysteries. I recommend the podcast series he did with CBC’s Understood. In Canada, we are at a point where we should be protecting ourselves with our own digital laws. Check out his podcast and then consider writing to your MP about what you think our nation should do to protect our digital sovereignty.

CBC’s Understood – Season 5 – Who Broke the Internet? The internet sucks now, and it happened on purpose.
CBC’s Understood – Season 1 – The Naked Emperor: the rise and fall of bitcoin king Sam Bankman-Fried. (this is also really good if you are curious about the origins of crypto)

I read a lot about resistance against injustice and abusive power – both in this world and science-fictional ones. I re-read Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny”; there is an incredible graphic novel version he did with Nora Krug that I can’t recommend enough. Ursula K. Le Guin has a lot to say about resistance and the abuse of power in her work. This year, I read “The Dispossessed” and “Five Ways to Forgiveness.” 

One topic I did not expect to delve into further was dreams. First, I read the “Lathe of Heaven” by Le Guin – a book about a man whose dreams can change reality. We learn that the desire to change the world for the better can have unintended consequences. For Christmas, I was given “An Alphabet for Dreamers: How to see the world with eyes closed” by Sharon Sliwinski. I intend to journal my dreams in 2026 and see what happens – perhaps, I will see some wisdom in my subconscious.

I also read “Is a River Alive” by Robert MacFarlane. I love his writing, and I’m obsessed with rivers, so this was a must-read. This non-fiction account was a global journey of how different nations have treated their rivers and how they are moving forward after much damage from extraction and disregard for the river’s life force. In Quebec, the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit and the regional municipality of Minganie passed resolutions to give personhood to the Muteshekau-shipu (Magpie) River and set a new legal precedent. This protects the river’s right to flow and be free from pollution. Wouldn’t that be a dream to declare personhood to our great rivers in Alberta – the North Saskatchewan, the Bow, and the Oldman River? 

The book I’ve recommended the most is “How to Stand Up to a Dictator” by Maria Ressa. This book is absolutely incredible in its analysis of social media, how it can be manipulated, and how it can take down a democracy. It shares how political autocrats use bots and online techniques to flood the system with disinformation to make it feel like there is popular support. There are so many vital lessons from this book and what happened in the Philippines for those of us in North America.

“What happened in the Philippines in 2016 is a microcosm of every information operation launched in democratic countries around the world. The combination of bots, fake accounts, and content creators (real people like Mocha Uson) infected real people like a virus…”

“This is how information operations work everywhere. Lies that are repeated over and over exponentially change the public’s perception of an issue, something that world powers have always known about propaganda but that gained new mean and pitch in the age of social media.” – Maria Ressa, How to Stand Up to a Dictator

Ressa is a genius, and this book is a gift to the world. I’m so pleased that she was awarded the novel Peace Prize in 2021.

Putting 2023 Learning into Action in 2024

While reviewing my reading, I saw that I took multiple learnings from my 2023 reading and put them into action in my day-to-day life.

The Long View by Richard Fisher – I had the opportunity to present the idea of “taking the long view” while discussing strategic priorities for a local board I sit on. It was empowering to share this outlook with others and to explore opportunities to create the environment for something to outlast ourselves for the community. This “long view” concept also illuminated that I prefer to work for organizations with a long history. There is something special about an organization or institution that has been around for over 100 years: a solid identity, purpose, and a solid foundation of principles and values to continue to build upon for the future.

Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis – I continued to learn about waste management in my local area and connected those insights into the waste system in my home. I even went on a tour of the Banff Waste Facility site for work and learned about the local challenges and where we can improve. Our plastic waste at home has drastically reduced, and the last step we have to take to improve our waste output is to start composting. I haven’t quite figured out how to best do this for condo living, but hopefully, we can address that in 2025.

My reading level increased from 36 titles in 2023 to 44 in 2024. I read for comfort, learning, and community. The book club I’m a part of in Canmore is very special, and we have wonderful conversations. We also push each other to read different books and share new parts of ourselves and our interests.

Leaving GoodReads

I also left GoodReads to join Storygraph. Storygraph is such a fantastic app:

• Powerful search – I can now search my curated “to-read” for any theme I want: mystery, geographic regions, informative, fiction, etc. It’s AMAZING. Look at the screenshot below of the list that pops up when I search my “to-read” list for Science as a genre.

• Amazon doesn’t get my reading data anymore
• Better stats and includes the “moods” of my titles.
• Reviews aren’t front and centre and thus don’t sway my reading decisions.
• Content Warnings – crowdsourced by readers.
• Stronger tracking system for books owned, DNF, paused (for when the library loan is due), read, or to-read.
• More nuanced rating system by including 0.25 increments.

Diversity Report

I continue to be fascinated by geopolitical topics and the impact of place on our identities. I learned in university one of the best ways to learn about a culture is to read their fictional literature. While I didn’t read many titles we translated in 2024, I hope to read more in 2025.

• North America (my home culture) – 17 titles
• Russia & Central Asia – 2 titles
• Europe – 9 titles
• South & Central America – 3 titles
• Middle East & North Africa – 1 title
• Sub-Saharan Africa – 0 titles
• East Asia – 4 titles
• South Asia -0 titles
• South-East Asia and Australia – 1 title
• Indigenous Peoples – 2 titles
• 2SLGBTQI+ – 2 titles
• Equity-Denied population topics – 2 titles
• Environmental Issues – 2 titles

Overall, I’m pleased with the diversity of this list, and I learned a lot this year.

Top Titles

Here’s a very brief list of the titles that stood out to me and some keywords to see if I can grip you into reading one.

• The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich- Prairies, environment, community, grief.
• The Lost Tarot by Sarah Henstra – mystery, cults, history, art.
• Not the End of the World by Hannah Richie – hopeful, re-examined facts, informative, environment, sustainable futures.
• Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld – feminism, politics, democracy, reimagined histories and futures.
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – moody, mysterious, magical, enchanting. Great world building, plot, and characters.
• What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama – cozy, hopeful, community, the power of art and freedom of information. People finding their purpose. Soft. Also, a Japanese translation.
• The Sentence by Louise Erdrich – community, empowerment, past/present, redemption.

Reading Vibes for 2025

• Reimagined Futures
• Science & Technology
• Media, ethics, and information systems
• Democracy & civic involvement
• Translations

What were your favourite reads last year? I would love to hear your recommendations. I wish you a year ahead of cozy reading that brings you joy!

Creating Sets Workshop with John Borrowman

I took a wonderful weekend workshop at ArtsPlace in Canmore with well-known potter and former town Mayor, John Borrowman. In his class I learned how to throw a flange, which I found immensely satisfying. For my first set, I decided to go with the flange design, despite my “typical” preference for minimalism, mostly because of the fun I had throwing them. It’s curious – the styles I don’t find aesthetically appealing are more fun to create so I’m finding as my pottery journey continues, my style is also evolving.

I think it is also beneficial to try different styles and know the techniques that might not be your favourite – you never know where your creative journey will take you.

How Much Clay Do I Need to Throw a Plate?

It’s shocking, but for me, it is 4 pounds for one plate. Then, there is a lot of room to trim the bottom of your plate for an attractive foot and to mimic the curve of the surface of the plate.

Extra Tools You Will Find Helpful to Make Plates

• Calipers
• Long Rib
• Throwing Bats

How to Support a Dramatic Flange

I found out the hard way that it was best to throw as wide as possible for the plate surface. From there, it’s important when you pull the rim up and out for the flange that you will have enough vertical support from the bottom of the plate to support and keep the flange from drooping. You can see the droop I have in two of my plates in the photos below.

What Size Should Your Plates Be?

My plates were thrown to be 10 inches in diameter including the flange. So, this set has 8 inch diameter of eating space and 2 inch wide flange. Honestly, they are too small to be a dinner plate. It’s like a really fancy and heavy side plate. I like smaller plate sizes to keep my portion sizes reasonable but I think they are too small for my partner or dinner guests.

Next time, I would want to calculate 10 inches of eating surface and then add the flange.

Lessons Learned for Trimming with Stacking in Mind

Here is an example of bad stacking. At least, I’m not satisfied with it and feel there is room for a lot of improvement.

Here’s where I think I went wrong:

• Documenting the sizes of my previous plates and making sure to throw to that size with the caliper tool. I think I did one of these by “feel”. You can see here that the top plate is smaller than the rest of the set.
• Next time, I will use calipers or a ruler to increase consistency of size in foot trimming so the plates can nest nicely. John Borrowman used a wide jar lid; he placed that in the middle of the bottom of the plate and trimmed around it to create the plate foot. It’s a cool trick and good for consistency.

Lessons with Glazes and Clay Bodies

As you can see here, these two plates are different despite having used the same glaze.

I used Rutile glaze and White glaze with the same thickness. The difference is the purple-hue Rutile (see right plate) is on M370 by Plainsman and the Rutile turquoise hue (see left plate) is on M340 by Plainsman. I never would have expected such a dramatic difference in the glazes on these clay bodies and I learned an important lesson for the future if I want strong consistency in the set.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Making a Plate Set

• How would I like to “frame my meal” with the plate?
• What shape do I want? How much food do I typically have in a serving? Ask family members too.
  • Do I want a flange to rest bread on? Or as a big frame for the meal?
  • Do I want a different shape to hold a certain cuisine? Japanese? Indian? Try to do some research into their pottery traditions.
• Is this an every day dinner set or do I want to create set for special occasions?
• Do I have enough clay for the amount of plates I want to make? Have extra clay for some duds.

Hopefully, later this year I will have a more successful set to share but in any case, I learned a lot from this first attempt.

Favourite Books of 2022

• Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
  • To use the common refrain, “this hit close to home” would be understatement. I’m pleased that there is a intelligent, nuanced, and feminine perspective of oilfield culture in Alberta, the boom years in the early 2000s, and transient work. I grew up in another oilfield heavy area in rural Alberta and related with much of the content in her graphic memoir.
• Women I Think About at Night: Traveling the Paths of My Heroes by Mia Kankimäki, Douglas Robinson (Translator)
  • A historical and personal journey of women, art, and travel including Karen Blixen, Yayoi Kusama, and Italian Renaissance painters Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, and Artemisia Gentileschi. It also explores what path these women took that veered off the historical societal expectations of women.
• East: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian recipes from Bangalore to Beijing by Meera Sodha
  • Amazing cookbook – vegetarian and vegan – it got me excited to make a meal. I found out I love and feel empowered in the kitchen with vegetarian cooking.
• Secrets of the Spakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World by Eliza Reid
  • In my humble opinion, Canada could look to Iceland for inspiration to increase its equity goals in societal systems.
• How to be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World by Chris Turner
  • Turns out, I’ve been holding on to some climate anxiety for at least 5 years. This book helped me out of that hole and has prompted my interest in generational time.
• Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars by Francesca Wade
  • Reading about artistic women who lived outside of society’s norms in the early 20th Century England was fascinating and refreshing. You will learn about the lives of and how their lives intersected with each other during pivotal times of their creative pursuits.
• River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard
  • Millard is my new favourite historian and this book was a triad of exploration, rivers and geography, and colonialism. Excellent read and it show the arrogance of colonialism in both personal and societal history without telling.
• Intuitive Eating Workbook by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch
  • Two years into my “get healthy” journey, I bought this workbook and I found it incredibly helpful. There were some really helpful exercises to tap back into awareness of my body and and personal hunger cues. There are also useful journaling exercising about body image and past habits. Worthwhile if you are interested in lifelong health.
• Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization by Edward Slingerland
  • Excellent blend of anthropology, history, philosophy, and science behind why we drink and what it does for and against us as a species. I’ve been waiting a long time for a book to approach the topic in this way and it didn’t disappoint.
• Geneviève Castrée: The Complete Works
  • I waited a long time to have this in my library. Castrée’s only published book, Susceptible, is a special book to me. This book of her unpublished work is a treasure and her work is incredibly inspiring to me.
• Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes
  • I never could have predicted that I would delve into classics in my reading life. It’s been really fascinating and rewarding. I discovered Natalie Haynes on a podcast, she is a super speaker and I recommend this book to any feminist looking to learn about Greek mythology. It will elevate your intellectual life.

History and Connecting the Dots

Since studying history in university, every year I keep learning the importance of our past. I believe the common statement is true: how can you understand who you are if you don’t understand where you came from?

Each new generation will approach the stories of the past with a new lens stemming from their challenges and dreams for the future. And there is something new to learn each time. Truth and fact becomes richer and more complex. It becomes clear that our challenges are not binary and need to be approached from as many angles as we can.

History is the common thread throughout everything I read this year – both macro and micro. I’m fascinated by the books examining moments of great change – the people and politics of 1890s-1920s. Greek myth. Colonial exploration of the world. The invention and history of alcohol. Personal histories of childhood and healing.

History guides my hope and bewilderment as to where we are heading in the future – it’s complex and it’s all connected.

Diversity Report

I’m really happy with the diversity of my reading this year! It’s among the most diverse since 2016. Back then, I found reading outside of my experience was sometimes mentally tiring. But now, it’s not at all. In fact, I seek it out.

One pleasant surprise is a mystery series with Ava Lee, a Chinese-Canadian forensic accountant and debt collector, written by Ian Hamilton. I was almost convinced that Ian Hamilton was a pseudonym because of his success in writing from a female perspective that doesn’t feel contrived and stereotypical. I’ve read two books and I’m learning a lot about China as well as international accounting crime. The series is fabulous and I highly recommend it. I would love to sit down with Ian Hamilton over some Chinese food and tea and hear all about how he developed Ava Lee as she’s a very compelling character.

I also discovered Val MacDermid this year, her mysteries are EXCELLENT.

Examining authors, topics, and geographic regions I read about this year, I feel that I got to “see” many different perspectives and experiences from around the world. For that, I’m grateful for every author I read this year. I think if I added diversity in topics and characters, it would be even higher.

• Black – 2
• Indigenous – 5
• Latinx – 0
• Middle Eastern – 0
• Asian – 5
• LGTBQ2S+ – 6
• White European – 27
• Total – 20/50

Reading Diversity Percentages

• 2022 – 40%
• 2021 – 36%
• 2020 – 37%
• 2019 – 25%
• 2018 – 22%
• 2017 – 65%
• 2016 – 22%

Reading Vibes for 2023

• Histories of Medicine and Health
• Reimagining the Future – Looking for hope and new possibilities among our biggest challenges for climate, human rights, and misinformation.
• Women and Art
• Learning New Pottery Skills – my creative life is shifting a bit – over the past year, it shifted away from drawing and over to pottery. I’m not going to try to force drawing over the next year but follow my pottery practice and where it intersects with drawing and story.

Reading Themes – Science, Mystery, Equity

My hunger for science is bigger than ever before. Nature! Health Science! Space! I’ve always been interested in the effect of place on our identities and I’m seeking books that have elements of geography, people, and history in them.

Around spring 2020, my interest in active and healthy living got a reboot and I purposely looked for science-based guidance. I’m more aware of the effects of diet culture has on me but I also want to feel and look good. So, I did some reflecting, tracking and analyzing my behaviours, and then changing some habits based on some science. I’m learning to give myself a break and accepting that doing it right means doing it sloooooow.

Self-Help Doesn’t Help

THEN, I got on the self-help rollercoaster and it threw me for a loop (and not in a fun “whooo” way). During my health reboot, I learned that dealing with changing habits and creating new routines also means accepting and moving through your emotions. So, this lead me down a path of reading more self-help books, geared towards emotion, in the summer and fall. I took their messages, internalized them, and proceeded to interpret them as “must-fixes” instead of suggestions and fell down a hole of self-doubt in my own pre-existing emotional skills.

In the end, I had to quit reading self-help books and I quickly felt better a week later after my epiphany of “Self help doesn’t help.” In fact, I think it can do more harm than good sometimes. And, a month later, I’m still not reading self-help or listening to any podcasts along that vein. Life is better.

Mysteries and Spy Thrillers

Mystery has been my cozy blanket of reading. I’ve read 15 books that are either mystery or spy-related! I’m still digging on Agatha Christie. I’m loving John Le Carré’s commentary on colonialism and class. And don’t get me started on the Dreadfulwater series by Thomas King. What a pure delight to read a mystery set in an area so similar to mine and his dry humour.

Diversity

I’m down 2% from last year but from analyzing my reading topics I think I know the reason. And guess what, my theory is that it is scholars from diverse backgrounds in academia are not published as much in natural sciences and health sciences. So when my reading turned quite science heavy, the authors I was reading were mostly of a traditional academic background.

• Black – 5
• Indigenous – 5
• Latinx – 3
• Middle Eastern – 1
• Asian – 3
• LGTBQ2S+ – 1
• White European/N. American – 32

Total – 18/50 books were written by diverse populations which is 36% of my overall reading.

This is not to say that those authors aren’t knowledgeable. But it would be helpful to have new perspectives on science so we can continue to improve all of our lives. Yes, we have more in common than we have different AND we live in a wide variety of ways and experiences. Both of these can be true and all those experiences in between. The desperate need for diversity in our research was abundantly clear to me when reading “Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men” by Caroline Criado Pérez.

I would also be thrilled to see more diverse authors published in the mystery and spy genres. I did read American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson which was unique and riveting. I would like to read more like that and in different settings than western Europe. There must be more and perhaps this could be addressed with more translations or world rights for publishing contacts?

I was pleased to see that in 2021, BookNet has done a Diversity Report for the Canadian Readers and their interest in diverse literature. 85%+ of people surveyed agreed that libraries, booksellers, and publishers should have books by a wider variety of authors.

Reading Diversely Percentages Since 2016

• 2021 – 36%
• 2020 – 37%
• 2019 – 25%
• 2018 – 22%
• 2017 – 65%
• 2016 – 22%

2022 Intellectual Vibes

From the books I’ve read this year, I’m going into 2022 with the following intellectual goals:

1. Joy – leaning into joy also as a form of resistance.
2. Inclusion & Diversity – Celebrating! Exploring! Learning about others’ experiences.
3. Open-minded + intellectual humility + discernment = Intellectual triple threat

My Fave Books of 2021

• Magdalena by Wade Davis
• The Diet Fix by Dr. Yoni Freedhoff
• Relax, Dammit by Timothy Caulfield
• Lookout: Love, Solitude, and Searching for Wildfire in the Boreal Forest by Trina Moyles
• Emotional Agility by Dr. Susan David
• Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Pérez
• Factfulness by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund
• Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie
• The Dreadfulwater series by Thomas King
• The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality and Our Destiny Beyond Earth by Michio Kaku

I created a HUGE recommended reading list based on this conversation in GoodReads. It’s 30+ books and covers everything from creativity, to health, to science, to adventure.

I have a lot of gratitude for Morgan and this podcast project. She’s sought out women to have vulnerable conversations with about what what we want out of life and how each woman approaches finding and living by their own values. The interviews display a variety of personal experience and perspectives. It’s great to see chats like these out in the world, especially focused on women living in Alberta. I’m not sure if the Alberta part was intentional but I saw it and I dig it.

Check out her website and keep an eye on it! Morgan is sharing her beautiful art with the world and she often takes on new exciting projects that you’ll want to see.

And then, slowly begin to recollect all the conspiracy theories I have seen in Instagram Stories… the little video I’ve included at the end is worth a watch for some clarity on falsifiability and how that concept is not used in conspiracy theories.

This is a great little video that was shared in my class.

Science Literacy MOOC Sketchnotes

• Week 1: A Difference of Opinion
• Week 2: Pseudoscience
• Week 3: Critical Thinking Pt. 1

I’m still dreaming about science and it’s a real trip my friends. I haven’t had this experience since university.

So here are the notes for Pt. 1 of Critical Thinking. This is an area that my brain needs some exercising. A really big, helpful takeaway for me is “Slow down to the speed of science.”

Science Literacy MOOC Sketchnotes

• Week 1: A Difference of Opinion
• Week 2: Pseudoscience

A Good Companion Book for Science Literacy

Speaking of large societal issues, by coincidence, I’m reading Steven Pinker’s book Enlightenment Now: The case for reason, science, humanism, and progress. I find it to be a really good companion book with my lessons in science literacy.

At the start, it felt like “the right book, at the right time” and gave me some hope that all is not lost (opposed to the feeling induced by the news and other media outlets these days). It looks at big data and how we can make better decisions as a society by embracing the complexities and not falling for the political polarities that we are struggling with at the moment.

I noticed that my reading shifted to be more critically minded. For example, I found Pinker’s personal biases and worldview are quite apparent. Some of them I disagree with and they felt unnecessary to include. But, he has also discussed scientific literacy and the tools to identify such biases, so I admire that he was able to write the book to teach critical reading while also giving the reader the tools to identify his own biases.

I hope I’ll be able to put together a review of the book but I still require some more thinking and reflecting on it. Over to the sketchnotes from SciLit: Week 2.

I’m starting to have dreams about this stuff! Who knew I would find science literacy so engaging?

Science Literacy Sketchnotes – Week One

This course is free on Coursera and was created by the Dr. Claire Scavuzzo at the University of Alberta. Please sign up if this interests you :)

These sketchnotes were designed with Instagram in mind as the sharing platform. Here’s the overview of what I learned in Week One. It has turned into a wake-up call that I had been avoiding science, math, and related learning ever since my first year of college and my science literacy needs tuning up.

Here’s where I really started leaning in and recognizing my own decision-making patterns. I’m heavy on the instinctual sometimes because of time pressure but now I’m going to work on taking some time to be more deliberate (hence, me as the driver of this trolley).

Back when I was a student in university, I recall feeling mystified about metaphysical arguments. Now I know why (har har!).

One of the most electrifying parts of the first week was the discussion of the role of Indigenous Science and Traditional Knowledge in the pursuit of science. This really gets me excited as I am very relationship motivated and that’s my super power of understanding. When I hear “Everything is a living being”, “experiential learning”, “start a friendship”, and “knowledge belonging to the collective”… I’m like “YAAAASSSS!”

I am way into this approach which Elder Elmer Ghostkeeper calls “Wisescience”.

Stay tuned for Sketchnotes from week 2 on PSEUDOSCIENCE!