The Mismeasure of Man
Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Science & Math
Stephen Jay Gould examines the history of efforts to measure human intelligence and to rank groups of people by it. Gould shows how scientists from the nineteenth century onward used skull measurements, IQ tests and statistics to support existing social prejudices about race, class and sex. He argues that biological determinism rests on flawed science and bias. First published in 1981, the book was revised and expanded in 1996.
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- Neil deGrasse Tyson: “If I were to recommend a book that everyone in modern society should read, it's Stephen Jay Gould's The Mismeasure of Man (1981)”