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the_darn_kite_rises's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I read this book as a “non-scientist”, but also as a kid who thought they’d be an astronomer or an astronaut when they got older (not how things worked out in the end). I love science and love learning about science. Always have, even if I’m not part of the scientific community.
All that to say, the first few chapters were a slower read because the book is packed with definitions and concepts from the fields of cosmology, particle physics, astronomy, quantum mechanics, etc. I very much enjoyed the challenge; having to reread some paragraphs a few times didn’t negatively impact my experience at all (I know this might not be true for everyone).
So, the first part of the book focuses on instilling a sense of wonder about the universe and how it works. The rest of the chapters are a deep dive into the white supremacy driving western sciences and the scientific community.
It gives an unflinching, holistic picture of how throughout history and into the present, white empiricism and the scientific methods enforced by violent colonialism are not very empirical after all. How society has systematically disregarded and suppressed non-western thinking and ideas. How white supremacists are the ones who decide which voices are lauded and who is silenced. This book made me think so much and so deeply. It was horrifying. But hopeful, too. If you are involved in western sciences, or even if you just have a passing interest in it, I regard this as a must-read. It helped me experience something rare.
All that to say, the first few chapters were a slower read because the book is packed with definitions and concepts from the fields of cosmology, particle physics, astronomy, quantum mechanics, etc. I very much enjoyed the challenge; having to reread some paragraphs a few times didn’t negatively impact my experience at all (I know this might not be true for everyone).
So, the first part of the book focuses on instilling a sense of wonder about the universe and how it works. The rest of the chapters are a deep dive into the white supremacy driving western sciences and the scientific community.
It gives an unflinching, holistic picture of how throughout history and into the present, white empiricism and the scientific methods enforced by violent colonialism are not very empirical after all. How society has systematically disregarded and suppressed non-western thinking and ideas. How white supremacists are the ones who decide which voices are lauded and who is silenced. This book made me think so much and so deeply. It was horrifying. But hopeful, too. If you are involved in western sciences, or even if you just have a passing interest in it, I regard this as a must-read. It helped me experience something rare.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Racism, and Sexual assault
kailah's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
kshertz's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.75
I learned a lot. I loved the perspective. So much of this went over my head but I tried! The experience of this scientist is important and I look forward to recommending to science peoples!
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault
christineplum's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
what I liked most about this book—coming from someone who is definitely *not* in science—is the connection Dr. Prescod-Weinstein makes between physics and humanity/culture. I have lived most of my life up to this point viewing science and physics as something outside of everyday life, however this book brings to light how recent this idea is. historically, physics has been entrenched in everyday thought, especially among indigenous communities, and modern separation is largely a result of capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy. innovation at the price of humanity is not innovation at all, yet we are fed the idea that it is.
my biggest critique is that I saw the overarching connection throughout the book mostly through its title and subtitles. otherwise, each chapter seemed quite separate from one another, as if they were more a collection of essays. this isn’t inherently bad, but my fiction-loving brain would have liked to see stronger narrative and motifs throughout that would have allowed me as the reader to draw connections without having to go back to chapter titles, section titles, or sometimes even the book title to see the connections. the whole first section of this book was way too smart for me, but I generally enjoyed it and thought it was worth it to push through, both for the learning and for what came after. I wish it would have had more of a direct payoff in the later sections, though.
my biggest critique is that I saw the overarching connection throughout the book mostly through its title and subtitles. otherwise, each chapter seemed quite separate from one another, as if they were more a collection of essays. this isn’t inherently bad, but my fiction-loving brain would have liked to see stronger narrative and motifs throughout that would have allowed me as the reader to draw connections without having to go back to chapter titles, section titles, or sometimes even the book title to see the connections. the whole first section of this book was way too smart for me, but I generally enjoyed it and thought it was worth it to push through, both for the learning and for what came after. I wish it would have had more of a direct payoff in the later sections, though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
counterfeitnickel's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Sexism, and Ableism
murve's review against another edition
informative
reflective
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexism, Colonisation, Classism, Rape, Misogyny, and Homophobia
danielles_reads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Vibes:
- fuck the system
- there is so much more to science than we typically see
- confusing as hell physics
I’m not sure how to rate this book. On the one hand, some of the chapters were absolutely brilliant and emotional and made me think in a way I never have before. On the other hand, the first four chapters focusing on explaining particle physics and astrophysics were extremely confusing and imo unnecessary, and the chapters near the end were so broad (discussing social oppression in general and not just in science) and repetitive that the book started to lose me. So ultimately I think the middle section (phases 2 and 3) were the strongest, and the bookend sections (phases 1 and 4) were the weakest.
I’ve seen a lot of reviewers blame themselves for not being science people as being the reason they couldn’t understand the physics in chapters 1-4. I have two STEM degrees and have taken multiple physics classes in my life (including astrophysics way back when), and I was still SO confused. I’m sure part of it was because I was listening to the audiobook, but I think it would have taken me even longer if I read it with my eyes. And now that I’ve finished, I can’t remember a single thing I learned from those chapters. In one ear and out the other. But yet I still benefitted from the later chapters. So honestly I don’t see the point. I don’t think Prescod-Weinstein effectively communicated the science to laypeople and I don’t know why she tried to do so. There was one moment near the end where they said humans’ relationship to the universe is not as simple to understand as the Standard Model of particle physics and I laughed. That was supposed to be simple?
On a related note, I’m not sure who the audience for this book is. The science was very confusing to the point where I don’t see how most non-physics people would understand it. A lot of the author’s language about science used the pronoun “we” and the way she talked about her experiences in science made it seem like she was talking directly to scientists. But then they explained what an acronym is and what the GRE is… things most people even tangentially connected to academia would definitely know 😂
With those main complaints out of the way, I really related to a lot of Prescod-Weinstein’s story as a (white) woman myself in STEM. I haven't experienced anything near as bad as some of the stuff she has gone through, but I have definitely felt unappreciated, excluded, and just overall exhausted by the oppression from people in STEM, and that made this book hit me so much harder. I especially loved the chapter talking about the work that goes on behind the scenes in science, whether it’s the janitors keeping the offices clean, scientists’ wives keeping house and raising children, or the BIPOC professors mentoring minority students on how to deal with the shit from bigoted white professors. That last part especially resonated with me because I know a lot of my Black engineering friends went through the same thing. I also love the whole “the universe is queer” idea, and the concept that every child deserves the right to be able to look at the night sky in wonder. The chapter about rape was especially moving and made me tear up. The physics of melanin were so interesting, and I didn’t know melanin was a conductor! I find the history of science so fascinating so I really appreciated learning more about it from a queer Black feminist standpoint. I also loved the discussion on the name “dark matter” and how comparisons of Black people to it are so harmful and not even accurate. Black people are luminous matter ✨
I will say that it was kind of funny to see the author describe Trump’s presidency as like end-of-the-world fascist totalitarianism, seeing as in 2023 Biden is barely any better, and is just as bad in some ways. I also thought her describing Europe as an Asian peninsula was funny at first but she repeated it at least three times so it lost its luster. At the same time they only ever described West Asia as the Middle East, which is ironic seeing as that’s a Western colonial label. I also didn’t like how the author virtually ignored Asian people in general and pretty much only talked about Black, Latine, and Indigenous people (at one point they said Black people are human, “like white people, like Asian people” and didn’t mention any other races, and I don't know their intention but that phrasing implies that white and Asian people’s humanity are recognized as equal, which is definitely not the case in the U.S.). The author only brought up Asian-Americans in STEM from the POV of those making racist comments about them (dark matter comparisons and model minority comments). Yes, East Asians are overrepresented in STEM but that doesn’t mean they don’t deal with racism?! I don’t know how many times I heard my fellow engineering students make fun of our Chinese TAs for their accents. In addition, Southeast and West Asians are definitely underrepresented and deal with a lot of the same struggles Black, Latine, and Indigenous folks do. So that felt like a huge oversight.
Lastly, Prescod-Weinstein is very clearly an anti-Zionist Jew, which is in opposition to over 90% of Jews worldwide. She mentioned she donated to a “Jewish organization that is being attacked for recognizing the humanity of Palestinian people,” which is probably Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization that is run by mostly non-Jews and repeatedly mischaracterizes Jewish traditions and history. It was especially grating to hear them call out Israel for “pinkwashing” (something that all countries do to some extent), and not even mention corporations. They also only ever talked about Western colonialism, which I can partly understand since they most likely know more about it, but it feels weird to me to not at least see Soviet imperialism in terms of the Space Race mentioned. She briefly mentioned the Cold War, but only from the American point of view.
Overall, I really appreciated the project of this book, and I learned quite a bit that blew my mind. At the same time, I think if it had a much narrower focus it would have been a lot better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
rachbake's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical trauma, Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia, Slavery, Rape, Sexual assault, and Colonisation
solenodon's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexism, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Child abuse, Slavery, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Colonisation, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Chronic illness, Antisemitism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
katherine_shelton's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
2.75
I'm really hesitant to give this book a star rating because it's immensely personal and, despite some of my own issues with it, I think it has tremendous value. That said, it reads like 3 different types of books kind of tossed together. It's part pop-science, part memoir, all social commentary. It deals with really important themes of racism, sexism, colonialism, et al. in science. But it's more about Chanda Prescod-Weinstein's relationship to science in light of those issues. I kept wanting to judge the book for what it ISN'T, instead of what it is, and I realize that may not be fair. I will say that the final chapters of this book became really repetitive. I liked the chapter about Mauna Kea, but I felt like it focused more on how it influenced her relationship to astronomy and science (as an institution), than it did on explaining the actual issue. I had to do a Google search to really get a grasp of what she was talking about, and I felt that way throughout the book. She tosses in comments about Isaac Newton being "an asshole" without elaborating, for example, which made me Google "Isaac Newton racist" just to find out what she was talking about. LOL. (He held investments in the South Sea Company, ie slavery). And she repeats a theory about Oppenheimer participating in the development of the atomic bomb because he "couldn't accept himself as a Jew" which was just... ick! I can't stand it when religious people act like their faith precludes people from committing atrocities because that HAS NEVER been the case. She also repeatedly calls him a "snitch," while she treats the complicities of Black physicists who succeed "by any means necessary" with considerably more gentleness. Don't get me wrong, she concludes that everyone has a responsibility to participate in justice, she just takes you on a circuitous journey before she gets us there. But these are tiny parts of the book that just irritated me, and don't make the book worthless, by any means. Overall, I think it's good, but messy.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault