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alisarae's review against another edition
5.0
Fan-tast-tic.
I’ve never taken a course in statistics and so I am very bad at spotting errors in statistical reasoning. Author Angela Saini is excellent at pointing out logical fallacies, shoddy research, pseudoscience, and poor statistical analysis. In this book, Saini tracks the contemporary descendents of nazi-era race research and shows how it is subtly and blatently alive in Western scientific institutions today. It is scary, friends.
The fact is that surface level appearances (skin, eyes, hair) are defined differently around the world, and those genes make up a small fraction of a person’s total DNA anyways (think “tip of the iceburg”). We have waaay more DNA going on than what we can see with the eye. So statistically speaking, an Indian living in London is just as likely to have the majority of her DNA in common with her white neighbor as she is to have with a random person from India. That blew my mind, to be honest. Our DNA as a species is far more mixed than it is separated.
Race as a cultural construct, a reference to people of different social cultures, is still important for our world today. But as a biological definer? That has been proven in study after study to be useless grasping at straws. So why do even well-intentioned educated people continue to try? Saini believes that we all want to know that we are special, that we belong somewhere, and well, that we are superior.
I’ve never taken a course in statistics and so I am very bad at spotting errors in statistical reasoning. Author Angela Saini is excellent at pointing out logical fallacies, shoddy research, pseudoscience, and poor statistical analysis. In this book, Saini tracks the contemporary descendents of nazi-era race research and shows how it is subtly and blatently alive in Western scientific institutions today. It is scary, friends.
The fact is that surface level appearances (skin, eyes, hair) are defined differently around the world, and those genes make up a small fraction of a person’s total DNA anyways (think “tip of the iceburg”). We have waaay more DNA going on than what we can see with the eye. So statistically speaking, an Indian living in London is just as likely to have the majority of her DNA in common with her white neighbor as she is to have with a random person from India. That blew my mind, to be honest. Our DNA as a species is far more mixed than it is separated.
Race as a cultural construct, a reference to people of different social cultures, is still important for our world today. But as a biological definer? That has been proven in study after study to be useless grasping at straws. So why do even well-intentioned educated people continue to try? Saini believes that we all want to know that we are special, that we belong somewhere, and well, that we are superior.
lottie1803's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
ailsa_mackintosh's review against another edition
5.0
It took me so long to finish this book because I kept going off to google things as I had to know more. I’ve never been challenged to think so critically about what ‘race’ itself is and how undefinable it actually is. This is a must read for anyone who wants to think deeper about the ideas of race in a scientific setting.
velvetbarnes's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
zoer03's review against another edition
5.0
Wow this is intriguing and eye opening stuff. Yes it also made me uncomfortable, angry and sad. It has made me look at myself in a whole new light compared to people of colour ( I hope that’s ok and not a slur or a term used by racists) and I feel ashamed. This is what we all need a shake up and a wake up call now that we can see evidence of it on the rise, we need to combat this by looking at what’s wrong with it and how to rebuild the connections between all of us. I am going to make a stand to educate myself in this and other books like this. My eyes are open now they will not be closed, shut, blind or turned away. Peace and love to everyone
kveylet's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This is an amazing dive into the rise and fall and creeping rise of scientific racism, and how entangled the facade of objectivity has always been with how we divide power socially. It’s written with documentarian’s vision and a historian’s command of these communities of scientists and racists. Everyone interested in thinking about how we redress the social harms of racism and move away from race as a cause for division of power should read this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and War