Book of the Month: Curiosity in a Data-Filled World

Overview

For May we’re looking at a brand-new book about data literacy, “Curiosity in a Data-Filled World: Data Literacy for Everyone,” written by Dave Wells. This book is printed at a time when data literacy is more relevant then ever. 

In an unusual twist for this column, I recommend this book for everyone. Wells has structured an excellent piece that every single reader can take something from and apply it to any facet of their life. The book is split into four parts: data literacy as a life skill, working with data, data literacy across roles and life, and data literacy knowledge and practice. The book also has two marvelous appendices, one called The Data Literacy Body of Knowledge (DLBOK), and a handy glossary of data literacy terms. 

Wells starts the reader off with data literacy in everyday life, and highlights for the reader how people interact with and make decisions based on data in their daily lives.  Wells expands this to include interaction with data in family, personal, civic, social, and work lives. This is a critical distinction that sets up the book for the reader to be curious about how to interact with data no matter what they are doing.  Wells really hammers this home by explaining some common misconceptions, that data literacy is “mostly workplace stuff.” By starting with everyday life scenarios, he leads the reader to have an epiphany about how their common daily activities are related to data. 

Moving into the working with data section, a style theme implemented by Wells throughout the book really sticks out. Wells will often provide the user with brief quotes that help explain discrete concepts of literacy to the reader. While several of these are immediately impactful, a favorite emerged: “Confidence is earned, not assumed.  Knowing when NOT to trust a number is a literacy skill.” Even though it’s a brief sentence, it’s wonderful advice to the reader. The entire section gives great tips on how to be curious in the workplace. 

The book concludes with two outstanding appendices. Wells provides readers with what he calls The Data Literacy Body of Knowledge (DLBOK) which breaks down data literacy into six domains.  Starting with foundations and ending with insight and action.  The depth and value of this section is great content for the reader and something that will provide an excellent reference after having finished the book. It lastly finishes with a glossary of terms, to give any reader of any experience level a basic understanding of terms used by data management professionals. This arms the reader with a good base level understanding of complex ideas like data governance, or abstract concepts like accuracy. 

This book, as mentioned above, is recommended for everyone. All four sections are highly impactful. It also impresses upon the reader the importance of maintaining a curiosity as it relates to data in their everyday lives. Ask yourself questions like “Where did this data come from?” and “Where is this data I’m producing going?” So many concepts presented in this book are things that data management professionals take for granted. For folks who are experts at data management, being able to experience and think about the world of data from the perspective of teaching it at a level for everyone is a refreshing read. For everyone else, thinking and learning about how you interact with data and instilling a sense of curiosity is learning well spent. 

More About Dave Wells

Dave Wells is a data management consultant, educator, and author with experience across a broad spectrum of data practices. Over more than 50 years working with data in many roles, Dave has helped people learn how to understand, interpret, and communicate with data. His experience includes data architecture, data analysis, data visualization, data storytelling, and the design and development of data management systems. 

These experiences give Dave a broad perspective on how business, information, data, and technology work together – and how people can use data thoughtfully in their work and in daily decisions.  Knowledge sharing and skills building are Dave’s passions, carried out through consulting, speaking, teaching, and writing.