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Galileo's Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science by Alice Dreger
jinxruby's review against another edition
Very interesting subject matter but as someone who knows almost nothing about the academic side of gender ideas it was very confusing. It read more as a summary of events and didn’t make much of a point, which I had really hoped it would build to.
melissa_who_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Not entirely sure where I end up on this book; I found it readable and interesting, a profound personal journey of scholarship and activism - she raises many thoughtful questions, but I think there are more questions to ask. As always, there are more questions.
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
This was fascinating... and hard to describe. Dreger is an historian of science & anatomy and an activist. She has melded those two seemingly different worldviews into an interesting and sometimes controversial career. Her book is part career memoir, part case-studies and part philosophy, and incidentally, often amusing. After doing her thesis on the medical establishment's treatment of people born with non-standard anatomy during the Victorian times, Dreger discovered that current practices continued to be dangerous and unhelpful (in her view) and she became an activist for intersex rights. After years of activism, she also discovered many researchers and scientists whose careers, and personal lives, have been trashed when they've published work that is unacceptable to some activists. She got to know the scientists and their work and concluded that their results were valid and they had been mistreated by some of her activist colleagues. Another project led her to discover a doctor/researcher who has been unethically using human subjects for a long term study. Dreger has thought a lot about the roles of scientists, researchers, activists, the media and what it all means for the future of democracy. She reminds us that good people can do unethical things and bad people can do good things, that hard data is critically important and that we need people pushing for both truth and justice if we're going to 'get it right.'
themandapanda's review against another edition
3.0
I don't think it was exactly what it said on the tin, but what it did contain was still interesting.
jrobles76's review against another edition
5.0
A great read that really draws you in to the drama behind activism and science, and when the two seem to disagree. I actually had read one of the books at the center of one of the controversies, and it is interesting how people will judge something they haven't read. This attests to the responsibility that leaders have to be honest. If you tell your followers or friends something, they will take your word for it. The author even admits that, since she saw many of these controversies from the outside, she also believed the "party line" as it were. I learned a few new things about ideas that I had just accepted. The hope of the author is that one day we will work together to discover truth, whether that truth is uncomfortable or not. Our beliefs should not stymie research just because the knowledge might force us to view the world differently.
This is a book that should be discussed in schools.
This is a book that should be discussed in schools.
kchiappone's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audiobook. I enjoyed a good portion of this book, but around the halfway point I grew very tired of its content. Dreger describes grudges between academic personalities and it's sort of like a description of a party where a whole bunch of stuff went down, but you weren't there. And it goes on and on.
In short, I very much enjoyed the parts that were about the science and the "before we thought, but now we think..." kind of stuff. I understand that politics plays a hefty role in science, but the internal politics of academia was quite boring.
In short, I very much enjoyed the parts that were about the science and the "before we thought, but now we think..." kind of stuff. I understand that politics plays a hefty role in science, but the internal politics of academia was quite boring.
awebster92's review against another edition
3.0
ohhh this book. I’m not sure where to start. The way it started really caught my attention. I did learn quite a bit about intersex people. I’ve never really looked into the subject, though of course I know they exist. I was disgusted by a lot of the things that happened to not only intersex babies but also male/female babies. A newborn boy had a botched circumcision and they turned him into a girl. A SEX CHANGE before he even knew how to talk. I freaked out about that. (Here is the wiki article on David Reimer). David Reimer’s story is so disturbing, I actually put the book down for a bit to research him on my own. I couldn’t even IMAGINE doing those things to a child. It’s heartbreaking.
Back to the book, I was a little caught off guard by Galileo’s Middle Finger. The Synopsis was not descriptive. This is more of a memoir from the author. I enjoy memoirs occasionally, I just wasn’t expecting it. She is very passionate in what she does, there is no doubt about that. I did feel that the book dragged on and let me uninterested. It wasn’t a horrible book but it wasn’t great – just ‘okay’. This would be a great book for fans of Alice Dreger, as I hear she has some following. Personally, I’ll rate it 3/5
Back to the book, I was a little caught off guard by Galileo’s Middle Finger. The Synopsis was not descriptive. This is more of a memoir from the author. I enjoy memoirs occasionally, I just wasn’t expecting it. She is very passionate in what she does, there is no doubt about that. I did feel that the book dragged on and let me uninterested. It wasn’t a horrible book but it wasn’t great – just ‘okay’. This would be a great book for fans of Alice Dreger, as I hear she has some following. Personally, I’ll rate it 3/5
siriuschico's review against another edition
3.0
Galileův prostředníček poskytuje velmi zajímavý vhled do dvou rozdílných skupin – vědci a aktivisté. Autorka velmi zajímavě popisuje jak se tyto dvě skupiny vzájemně ovlivňují a dává spoustu příkladů výborné vědecké práce zadupanou do země pár aktivisty a naopak nekvalitního výzkumu (ohrožující zdraví) silně chráněného vládou. Prvních čtvrtina knihy je pouze o výzkumu transsexuálů, ale ve zbytku je více zajímavějších příkladů.
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Galileo´s middle finger is about two very different groups of people: scientist and activist. In the book there are few very interesting examples of good science which are abused by few activist that could get research to stop. There are also examples of poor science research which could get people hurt, but this research is strongly backed and protected by government. Be prepared that first quarter of book is only about transsexuals, more interesting examples are in rest of book.
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Galileo´s middle finger is about two very different groups of people: scientist and activist. In the book there are few very interesting examples of good science which are abused by few activist that could get research to stop. There are also examples of poor science research which could get people hurt, but this research is strongly backed and protected by government. Be prepared that first quarter of book is only about transsexuals, more interesting examples are in rest of book.