This book looks at the concept of race in the context of genetics and its supposed correlations with intelligence, athletic ability, creativity, etc.
I found the title of this book misleading, as it doesn't actually address how to argue with racists - it's kind of an unabashed publicity stunt of a title - but it does offer some insight into what current science tells us, or doesn't tell us, about race.
Essentially, this entire text can be summed up with the following: "Geneticists don't really know a lot about genes yet. But genes probably don't correlate to folk definitions of race. It's probably mostly about culture."
It's a lot of "maybes" and "probablys" and "we have absolutely no ideas", which doesn't inspire a huge amount of confidence, and for me doesn't make for a compelling read. What we can glean from the data Rutherford lays out, though, is that it seems to point pretty well to the idea that race is by and large a sociological and cultural phenomenon, particularly the way we currently define - or don't precisely define - it. There's a lot of "correlation without causation" and a lot of (well deserved) grumbling about pseudoscience and misguided lay interpretation.
Basically, Rutherford says, we have simply not been able to make a case that observed differences in races have a biological or genetic basis, and that doesn't seem to be in the cards - at least in any significant way - in the future. He doesn't get into the socio-cultural aspect much at all, but we've read tons of resources in this group in which this kind of data proves much more compelling, buttressing Rutherford's point.
Ultimately, if you're interested in science, this might be a good primer for you, and his points are good ones. I found the book unfortunately very dull and a bit too over-my-head, as I'm not very scientifically-minded. I'd recommend instead watching the three-part Race: The Power of Illusion series mentioned in my last post, which makes many of Rutherford's points in a much clearer and more intriguing way.
What did you think? Am I on my own here? Feel free to discuss!
I found the title of this book misleading, as it doesn't actually address how to argue with racists - it's kind of an unabashed publicity stunt of a title - but it does offer some insight into what current science tells us, or doesn't tell us, about race.
Essentially, this entire text can be summed up with the following: "Geneticists don't really know a lot about genes yet. But genes probably don't correlate to folk definitions of race. It's probably mostly about culture."
It's a lot of "maybes" and "probablys" and "we have absolutely no ideas", which doesn't inspire a huge amount of confidence, and for me doesn't make for a compelling read. What we can glean from the data Rutherford lays out, though, is that it seems to point pretty well to the idea that race is by and large a sociological and cultural phenomenon, particularly the way we currently define - or don't precisely define - it. There's a lot of "correlation without causation" and a lot of (well deserved) grumbling about pseudoscience and misguided lay interpretation.
Basically, Rutherford says, we have simply not been able to make a case that observed differences in races have a biological or genetic basis, and that doesn't seem to be in the cards - at least in any significant way - in the future. He doesn't get into the socio-cultural aspect much at all, but we've read tons of resources in this group in which this kind of data proves much more compelling, buttressing Rutherford's point.
Ultimately, if you're interested in science, this might be a good primer for you, and his points are good ones. I found the book unfortunately very dull and a bit too over-my-head, as I'm not very scientifically-minded. I'd recommend instead watching the three-part Race: The Power of Illusion series mentioned in my last post, which makes many of Rutherford's points in a much clearer and more intriguing way.
What did you think? Am I on my own here? Feel free to discuss!