The Disordered Cosmos

"The early chapters of this book lay out the author’s interest in physics with a palpable enthusiasm, while the later chapters discuss the ways that the dominant culture manifests in academia and the physics "community" that work to dim that enthusiasm. I hadn't really considered the ways that science as a discipline and idea are socially constructed so there's lots to think about.<br/><br/>(I did dock a star because I found the chapter on gender a bit reductive - I hate the narrative that nonbinary people exist because they are the only ones who object to traditional gender roles and this chapter skirts pretty close to that. Overall though a great read.)"

"This book does not add anything to the knowledge of human civilization, except bitterness towards the world, our existence, and where the human civilization currently stands. I went through the entire book (painful as it was) because I wanted to make sure to read the whole book and give author the chance to redeem themselves before giving it a review. This book has some cliched claims and statements that are like whatever everyone knows this is true and pretty much agrees to this. And the author doesn't really provide any new insights or enforcement to these cliched statements either except just to recite them with different sentence structure and vocabulary. The most disturbing part of the book is the racist undertone that the author sticks to that seems to guide her philosophy in life. This undertone is so strong that this book ends up basically being a racist rant that should have been a blogpost in some seedy tabloid. The author would probably be curious to know my race and gender after reading this review to determine how to interpret it, however I for one don't care to live in a world where my gender or race or ethnicity is what matters rather than my ideas and statements."

"I've read many science books, and I feel like somehow I have to like this book or be guilty of some kind of racism, but i agree with you, and from the almost 500 books I've read in the last couple of years this one while not the worst is near the bottom. It was an example of if you want to something badly enough, be it racism or another belief, you'll find it everywhere regardless of the evidence. Apparently quantum chromodynamics Is racists, as is dark matter, all created by racist white scientist, and I assume so will be black holes, if I read further. I've finished ever book i started, but I'm struggling with this one and feel like I'm the author's therapist by reading it. Most of her arguments are a stretch, such as why Caroline Herschel has to be called an astronomer not assistent, because Newton is referred to as a physicist not a natural philosopher. There are things in the world that can be improved and judging people, based on gender and race (which I agree is a bio social construct), but she seems to commit more racism and judges people in history out of their social and historical context. I for one will not read another one of her books, and stick to other author's (Neil de Grasse Tyson for example)"