Superior

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An astute and timely examination of the re emergence of scientific research into racial differences Superior tells the disturbing story of the persistent thread of belief in biological racial differences in the world of science.After the horrors of the Nazi regime in WWII, the mainstream scientific world turned its back on eugenics and the study of racial difference But a worldwide network of unrepentant eugenicists quietly founded journals and funded research, providing the kind of shoddy studies that were ultimately cited in Richard Hernstein s and Charles Murray s 1994 title, The Bell Curve, which purported to show differences in intelligence among races.If the vast majority of scientists and scholars disavowed these ideas, and considered race a social construct, it was still an idea that managed to somehow make its way into the research into the human genome that began in earnest in the mid 1990s and continues today Dissecting the statements and work of contemporary scientists studying human biodiversity, most of whom claim to be just following the data, Saini shows us how, again and again, science is retrofitted to accommodate race Even as our understanding of highly complex traits like intelligence, and the complicated effect of environmental influences on human beings, from the molecular level on up, grows, the hope of finding simple genetic differences between races to explain differing rates of disease, to explain poverty or test scores or to justify cultural assumptions stubbornly persists.At a time when racialized nationalisms are a resurgent threat throughout the world, Superior is a powerful reminder that biologically, we are all faralike than different. Read Superior Author Angela Saini – kino-fada.fr This is a journalistic account of race science where both terms race and science are scrutinised with a sharp eye Saini is quite up front with her own stance that there s no genetic or biological support for racial difference beyond the merest superficialities such as skin pigmentation Driven by the re emergence of the most pernicious ideologies that many of us thought had been exposed for what they are by the Holocaust and other race based genocides of the C20th, this takes an intere This is a journalistic account of race science where both terms race and science are scrutinised with a sharp eye Saini is quite up front with her own stance that there s no genetic or biological support for racial difference beyond the merest superficialities such as skin pigmentation Driven by the re emergence of the most pernicious ideologies that many of us thought had been exposed for what they are by the Holocaust and other race based genocides of the C20th, this takes an interesting look at the history of race science and the role it still plays in academic research today, however contested and controversial.Saini is a relaxed writer, always accessible and with a sense of humour that is light but with just the right level of suppressed snarkiness witness the anecdote of the geneticist who proclaims that he s discovered the chop stick using gene in Chinese people Well, we laugh but, of course, it...There is a kind of will to truth We will make this be the truth if we try hard enoughSubir Sinha.Oh how this resonates in our social media dominated fake news society Sinha s quote refers particularly to religious extremists but effectively demonstrates the kind of sentiment that underlies the science and ways of thinking that the book works to demolish That backwards system which starts with ideology and then looks for evidence to support it Race is not about genetics biological diThere is a kind of will to truth We will make this be the truth if we try hard enoughSubir Sinha.Oh how this resonates in our social media dominated fake news society Sinha s quote refers particularly to religious extremists but effectively demonstrates the kind of sentiment that underlies the science and ways of thinking that the book works to demolish That backwards system which starts with ideology and then looks for evidence to support it Race is not about genetics biological difference, it is a social, cultural, political construct It was created to separate, subordinate, invalidate certain types of people, a way of perpetuating and bolstering the supposed superiority of the great white male It s the kind of thing that feels like part of the past, and it definitely should be, but Angela Saini shows that not only it it still here, it never went away Even the Holocaust was not enough to demonstrate the dangers inherent in such ideology, simply pus...A good overview of the history of race science I studied a lot of the earlier documents for my own research and they just sounded like such a ridiculous and desperate attempt to justify racial hierarchies Unfortunately, this garbage science is coming back in the...It was always going to be difficult to follow Angela Saini s hugely popular Inferior, but with Superior she has pulled it off, not just in the content but by upping the quality of the writing to a whole new level Where Inferior looked at the misuse of science in supporting sexism and the existence of sexism in science , Superior examines the way that racism has been given a totally unfounded pseudo scientific basis in the past and how, remarkably, despite absolute evidence to the contrary, t It was always going to be difficult to follow Angela Saini s hugely popular Inferior, but with Superior she has pulled it off, not just in the content but by upping the quality of the writing to a whole new level Where Inferior looked at the misuse of science in supporting sexism and the existence of sexism in science , Superior examines the way that racism has been given a totally unfounded pseudo scientific basis in the past and how, remarkably, despite absolute evidence to the contrary, this still turns up toda...Having grown up as part of an ethnic minority group in London during the 1980s and 90s, Angela Saini has first hand experience of the racism which was rife during these decades Unfortunately, after being heavily discredited, race science has slowly and insidiously crept back into public discourse over the past 50 70 years During her formative years, the murder of Stephen Lawrence in close proximity to her childhood home had a big impact on her and what really stuck in her mind was the differen Having grown up as part of an ethnic minority group in London during the 1980s and 90s, Angela Saini has first hand experience of the racism which was rife during these decades Unfortunately, after being heavily discredited, race science has slowly and insidiously crept back into public discourse over the past 50 70 years During her formative years, the murder of Stephen Lawrence in close proximity to her childhood home had a big impact on her and what really stuck in her mind was the difference between someone white being murdered and a black individual it was obvious that fewer resources and time were dedicated to an ethnic minority individual to those who were white But was this due to scientific or societal issues This childhood experience precipitated Saini s intense interest in the subject of race, racial bias and matters surrounding ...I won an advance copy of this book through the website Library Thing The subject matter is so timely, what with the rise of right wing nationalists in both the USA and Europe When most people think of racists, they think of creepy inbred guys like the one playing banjo in the movie Deliverance They think of guys wearing white robes, burning crosses on lawns They think of Nazis wearing SS uniforms They don t think of scientists and writers and professors.It s these white collar, professional I won an advance copy of this book through the website Library Thing The subject matter is so timely, what with the rise of right wing nationalists in both the USA and Europe When most people think of racists, they think of creepy inbred guys like the one playing banjo in the movie Deliverance They think of guys wearing white robes, burning crosses on lawns They think of Nazis wearing SS uniforms They don t think of scientists and writers and professors.It s these white collar, professional racists that are the most dangerous Using flawed research and misinterpretations of data, they provide the intellectual balla...EVERYONE MUST READ IT NOWA very compelling, thorough investigation into the intersection of modern science and race theory.The book is so titled and especially subtitled so as to suggest that the reader is into a major exploration of a resurgence of race science, and indeed, the work begins with a discussion of race scienceonly for the reader to learn how it never really went away Ever since the end of the first half of the twentieth century there has remained a small minority of researchers and investigators atte A very compelling, thorough investigation into the intersection of modern science and race theory.The book is so titled and especially subtitled so as to suggest that the reader is into a major exploration of a resurgence of race science, and indeed, the work begins with a discussion of race scienceonly for the reader to learn how it never really went away Ever since the end of the first half of the twentieth century there has remained a small minority of researchers and investigators attempting to justify old racial theories using new science The author does well at exposing how they work, how flawed their works are, and yet their ability to pop up at any time, whenever the cultural tide is correct But then ...Philosophers have written about humanity in its all encompassing meaning, they have written about virtue and morals and temperance but its unfortunate how all these are narrowly defined and limited to certain geographies and in turn, race We are all well aware how the fundamental definitions of morality and virtue has a cultural lilt and somehow these philosophies tend to ignore what isn t in their vicinity Be it Hume or Kant, they lacked the insight to see beyond the boundaries of their def Philosophers have written about humanity in its all encompassing meaning, they have written about virtue and morals and temperance but its unfortunate how all these are narrowly defined and limited to certain geographies and in turn, race We are all well aware how the fundamental definitions of morality and virtue has a cultural lilt and somehow these philosophies tend to ignore what isn t in their vicinity Be it Hume or Kant, they lacked the insight to see beyond the boundaries of their definition of humanity and still ended up defining it It is up to us, in future, to question and debate these philosophies But in current context, these philosophies have permeated to ethics, politics and its influence in everyday decision making Saini argues this in initial chapters with selected examp...Sometimes it made me sad, often it made me angry, and at times it scared the bejeebers out of me and I m really glad I read it.A book of genius Couldn t betimely

Superior
  • 07 November 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 256 pages
  • 0807076910
  • Angela Saini
  • Superior