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A review by sonjaloviisa
Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just about Everything by Randi Hutter Epstein
4.0
I bought this back in 2019 at the same time I purchased Sex at Dawn (I actually even bet that Adlibris recommended this to me or something). And I was expecting something similar, a kind of sexy, button-pushing popsci book about hormones. But ah, thankfully this was way better!
First of all, my naïveté in that hormones are all about sex really brings home the importance of this book. Hormones are about so much more. In fact, hormones are everything.
Epstein had a fantastic way of using specific case studies and stories to discuss complex scientific theories and weaving together endocrinology with history. This was really easy to follow, despite me not having any previous knowledge about the field. If you're queasy about graphic discussions about animal experiments (including what they've done to dogs...), prepare yourself mentally.
The biggest takeaway for me was summarized quite well by Epstein when talking about how the study of endocrinology "highlight[s] the ever-present uncertainty in medicine." It was quite disturbing to realize while reading this, how lost we have been and still are in terms of medicine and science in general. No one really knows anything, we're just doing experiments and hoping to figure things out as we go along. It's actually quite astounding how much we've been able to figure out, even though I believe that we will always be missing the mark to some extent. But being aware that science and medicine are definitely not absolute truths, carved into stone, allows for a more realistic and open approach that leaves room for alternative and more natural methods of medicine.
First of all, my naïveté in that hormones are all about sex really brings home the importance of this book. Hormones are about so much more. In fact, hormones are everything.
Epstein had a fantastic way of using specific case studies and stories to discuss complex scientific theories and weaving together endocrinology with history. This was really easy to follow, despite me not having any previous knowledge about the field. If you're queasy about graphic discussions about animal experiments (including what they've done to dogs...), prepare yourself mentally.
The biggest takeaway for me was summarized quite well by Epstein when talking about how the study of endocrinology "highlight[s] the ever-present uncertainty in medicine." It was quite disturbing to realize while reading this, how lost we have been and still are in terms of medicine and science in general. No one really knows anything, we're just doing experiments and hoping to figure things out as we go along. It's actually quite astounding how much we've been able to figure out, even though I believe that we will always be missing the mark to some extent. But being aware that science and medicine are definitely not absolute truths, carved into stone, allows for a more realistic and open approach that leaves room for alternative and more natural methods of medicine.