MonthNote #7: April 2025

Disclaimer: This is my personal journal and includes rough notes from my PhD journey. Some thoughts may be incomplete or not thoroughly researched. Please do not consider any content in my monthly notes to be definitive or final. If you have insights on any subjects I discuss or would like to start a conversation on a topic, please get in touch!

This month's blog post will be shorter, as I took a break for Easter and spent the other weeks busy reading and mapping.

Easter was lovely: Alan came over for a week from university and we spent the time playing a lot of Cluedo and a bit of Pokémon Go. We also went out for dinner one evening to Six by Nico to try their Italian Road Trip menu. This was perfect timing, as Nick and I are planning an Italian road trip in May!

PhD Update

Over the last four years, I have often felt like I have been "winging it." In truth, I have always felt that way. "Fake it till you make it" has long been one of my mottos — and it has carried me further than I might have otherwise gone. I have wanted to pursue a PhD since I first heard someone mention it. Until then, I thought "Doctor" referred only to medical doctors or archaeologists (like Dr. Jones). It was only when one of the Professors at my first university recommended me for a PhD and offered to supervise that I started asking questions.

Sadly, I was unable to begin the PhD programme at that time due to family commitments. It took another 12 years of asking questions before I could finally begin my research journey.

My first steps into academia mirrored my work life: I pretended to understand conversations, then spent evenings reading up on unfamiliar terms - methods, ontologies (still unclear), epistemologies (also unclear), and more. After four years, I am beginning to feel a little more at ease - not yet a professional swimmer… I’m still in the paddling pool. But although I still have my armbands on, I’m starting to feel more comfortable in the water.

Recently, I have been reading and mapping literature from two design journal databases. I have enjoyed this so far more than I expected, mainly because I now know what I'm looking for. My supervisors will still poke holes in my write-up until it resembles Swiss cheese, but for the first time, I am looking forward to early mornings spent reading and writing.

I also feel more confident discussing my research and asking focused questions during work conversations, leading to valuable insights into how people view ethics. For example, after hearing a senior leader mention AI ethics during a digital event at work, I reached out to her. She kindly made time for a conversation and shared a list of contacts. And so this month, I had four insightful conversations about how NatWest is embedding (or recommending) AI ethics. I was positively surprised by the efforts being made to ensure responsible AI development. However, there is still work to do - particularly across the broader field of design, where "AI" represents only part of the problem.

The interviews for my research are providing significant insight into whether and how organisations embed ethical frameworks. Either organisations are not communicating clearly, or little is happening in this area. Some designers believe it is their sole responsibility to ensure ethical design. While I agree we must be vigilant, I do not think designers alone should shoulder this burden.

Events

Nick and I attended the Members’ Preview screening of The Return at the British Museum - an experience I will never forget. As a museum member, I receive invitations to special events, and a few months ago, I signed us up for this film night. People who know me closely will attest to the fact that I rarely read information emails properly (I once signing up for what I thought was a short course that turned out to be an 18-month apprenticeship), so I had little idea what we were attending.

A few days before the event, I realised it was a pre-premiere screening of one of two films inspired by Homer’s Odyssey that are coming out this year. Thankfully, this was the less flashy version, starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, which focused on Odysseus' return. The film featured no CGI, was shot on a single island, and used simple clothing and architecture, all to highlight the acting, which was excellent.

The best part of the evening was the post-film Q&A with director Uberto Pasolini, Ralph Fiennes (Odysseus), the British Museum's Keeper of Greece and Rome, Tom Harrison, and Curator Vicky Donnellan. The first half-hour was live-streamed to 130 cinemas, but afterwards, the in-room audience had the chance to ask questions. The sense of smugness among those present in the room was palpable.

Academic Activities

I also attended the Embodied Intelligence Conference organised by Cambridge University. Although I couldn't attend every talk, the sessions I did join were very informative. Two points stayed with me:

• Embodied intelligence needs clear definition, as its meaning varies across disciplines (e.g., biology vs computer science).

• Physicality and intelligence: One speaker explained how biological systems differ from robotic systems, noting there is no single nerve from brain to elbow in a human body, unlike in a robot, and many localised processes occur.

This raised the question: How can we use this understanding to advance AI? Personally, I prefer that we do not. I'm not trying to be an alarmist - it's just a healthy caution about creating AI systems that are more intelligent than ourselves. However, seeing how difficult human collaboration can be often reassures me.

Other Activities

All the usual volunteering activities were as enjoyable as always. The catch-ups I have with other students continue to be valuable learning opportunities. I even decided to write a blog post about my experiences with mentoring. I’m a strong advocate for mentoring and believe it benefits both the mentor and the mentee. Having mentors has been instrumental in my career, not only for their guidance but also for the inspiration they provided.

An ex-colleague of mine recently suggested we run some design critique sessions together. Both of us work as solo designers, meaning we are the only design practitioners within our respective teams. While we both enjoy working this way, it’s helpful to have someone to bounce ideas off and to offer a second pair of eyes. We’ve attempted two sessions so far but ended up talking through both. Hopefully, next month’s session will be more focused.

I’ve just completed my final LUMA Design Thinking co-teaching session for the year. I don’t expect to lead any more practitioner training this year, but I’ll be supporting some of the Foundation trainings, which I’m looking forward to. These sessions are aimed at individuals who need a solid understanding of the LUMA system, its methods and recipes, but who won’t be applying it directly in their day-to-day roles. Typically, we target senior leaders who need to understand the approach without necessarily running workshops themselves.

Now, I know this may sound overly nerdy - and to many, quite dull - but one of the highlights of this month was attending NVivo training. I spent two full days learning how to use this tool for qualitative data analysis. I was initially concerned that my existing knowledge of NVivo might not be sufficient, but I leaned into my “fake it till you make it” mindset and went ahead with it. Someone recently mentioned that they've noticed that I tend to adopt a “good enough” approach. That mindset helped here, too - I reminded myself that my knowledge was sufficiently "good enough". Plus, I always have Google open in a tab and a good amount of common sense to rely on.

Closing Thoughts

This month, I feel very positive about my progress. Although I probably spend more time on my PhD work than strictly necessary, it brings me a lot of joy. Increasingly, I can see how academic knowledge strengthens my professional projects. Overall, it has been a month full of small wins, but I am also looking forward to some time off in May.

Some Recommendations

Below you have some recommendations and thoughts on things I've seen, heard or read. Here are a few from this month:

• Obviously The Return! - Go see that shit!

• While on a Ralph Fiennes role - also see his newest film Conclave. "Good timing" as well 😬.

• Hidden Figures - I’ve been putting off watching this film for years, as I was so worried about being disappointed. But my, was it an excellent watch! Nick and I cried quite a few times - the first was so unexpected we didn't have any tissues handy. Not great when you are covered with sleeping cats.

• We also watched Twisters. We'd heard it wasn’t very good, so our expectations were low. I love a good/shit adventure film, and this one met all the criteria. It was entertaining and forgettable in just the right way - exactly what a Sunday film should be.

• Over Easter we watched all three Back to the Future films and enjoyed ourselves immensly. I forgot how good-bad they are. I even decided to mention Part 2 in my thesis - something I thought would be poked out straight away - but for now it seems safe - maybe unnoticed!

• One of the books I finished this month was Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon. It’s an excellent read, both informative and enjoyable to read. The book retells the story of human evolution through the lens of the female body, offering a perspective that is often overlooked. While I appreciated the overall framing, there were moments where it felt like the author tried to force certain points, such as the discussion around voice, language, and who was “first.” In some cases, I’m not convinced it matters whether men or women were the originators of a specific evolutionary step. What seems more important is how the species collectively made use of it.

  Still, the female-centred retelling of human evolution is refreshing. The book also draws attention to the ways in which society has historically underserved women, particularly in terms of healthcare and their societal roles as the bearers of new life.

  Books like this, along with Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez, clearly show how harmful and unjust a toxic patriarchal system can be. I’m not suggesting we replace it with a matriarchal one, though studies I’ve read indicate that allowing women to take part in decision-making creates societies that are fairer and more prosperous. Instead, I’d advocate for an egalitarian system: one where all people are treated as equals, have equal rights and opportunities, and are included in shaping the societies they live in. Imagine what that world could look like.

  I highly recommend Eve. It’s a book that everyone should read to better understand how women have contributed, equally and significantly, to the evolutionary story that brought us to where we are today.

Update on goals:

• Ran/walked: 48.5km (=312.5km of the 1000km I want to do this year)

• wrote at least 100 words a day: 29/30 days

• Read at least 20 pages a day: 22/30 days

• Healthy eating and drinking: 20/30 days

• Didn’t buy anything: 14/30 days