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A review by jeff
The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
5.0
I loved this exploration around the connections of science and society. Unlike so many other books that try to draw societal conclusions from science, I learned net new concepts about astrophysics and history from Dr. Prescod-Weinstein. Every introduction of people or place included context on their gender, race, or socioeconomics, and how that context affected/affects their scientific contribution.
In college, I took a "Philosophy of Science" course that concluded with the professor saying something along the lines of "studying science is like studying birds: even if you figure out how they fly, you can't affect where they're going." This book gave me new perspective that actual scientific outcomes and how they are utilized in our society is deeply, deeply affected by the players involved and the respect they command. A more equitable, diverse, and just scientific field is necessary for advancing knowledge AND for the fulfilment and safety of those individual researchers.
In college, I took a "Philosophy of Science" course that concluded with the professor saying something along the lines of "studying science is like studying birds: even if you figure out how they fly, you can't affect where they're going." This book gave me new perspective that actual scientific outcomes and how they are utilized in our society is deeply, deeply affected by the players involved and the respect they command. A more equitable, diverse, and just scientific field is necessary for advancing knowledge AND for the fulfilment and safety of those individual researchers.