A review by katie_greenwinginmymouth
The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

White cis male physicists like to think that physics is a ‘pure’ science, unhindered by the concerns of the human world, but in this incredible book Prescod-Weinstein shows that physics does have a culture, and it’s one that excludes Black, queer, disabled women and non-binary people, and that has a serious problem with rape, sexual assault and other abuses of power.

The academic environment is not a healthy one for anyone, emphasis is put on capitalist incentives that favour quick, superficial work over work that requires deep, slow thought. There is an expectation that you will push your body to its limits and work round the clock to succeed which takes no account of those whose bodies don’t work like a machine or who want to do what they can to support and uplift others who might be struggling to get a foot in the door because of their race or class.

The book is written in an accessible, relatable way and does not try and erase cultural markers in order to sound authoritative by putting on a ‘proper’ science voice. It’s so refreshing to read a book that situates science in the real world and talks about the way we create theories, the industry and work culture that surrounds it, and the emotional labour that women in particular do in science, what Prescod-Weinstein calls academic housework. Vitally important work that infuriatingly will inevitably work against her in the eyes of academic promotion committees who will label it high risk.

The continuing colonialism of western science is highlighted, looking particularly at the protests by indigenous Hawai’ian people against the building of another massive telescope on Maunakea, land that has for years been sacred as a place from which to watch the night sky. Euro-American scientists like to frame this argument in terms of science versus religion, the subtext of which is civilised versus primitive. But if scientists shared a view of the world similar to that of indigenous Hawai’ians where land and its ecosystems are part of the family, maybe we would be less prone to exploit these resources. An ethical science is possible.