The research and integrity of Evans' writing is impeccable. surely, everyone knows." And by the time you put it down you're heartbreakingly aware of how truly necessary a book like this is and feel a bit of panic that it isn't required reading for every high school student in the world. Everyone knows that race is a construct and that there's more diversity within population groups than between them.
#Skin deep questions skin#
Skin Deep is one of those books that you pick up thinking, "Gosh, this is surely unnecessary. Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads. Just know that these people are insecure and need to falsely build up something that resembles self-esteem because they are so lacking in both intelligence and morals. They will cite and misrepresent actual studies and raise up questionable "experts" as ones that should be believed rather than the great majority of researchers. Also, don't be fooled by the dog whistles you'll find soon in reviews of both books. Ideally, I think both books work well together. If you're more interested in a closer reading of both the history and the current research, I would suggest Saini's book.
#Skin deep questions how to#
I would recommend this book if you'd like to read about the research but also want to hear how to counter those who cling to outdated concepts.
Race is not a real thing, it is a social construct that racists cling to to salve their insecurities. I also recently finished Angela Saini's book Superior, which is much more rigorous and, while Saini does personalize her approach to the topic she sticks much more to what the scientists and researchers say, which is, like here, that the big differences between population groups are not that big and that, when an attempt is made to overlay the social construct of race on the population groups in science there is simply no direct alignment.
What do you think science classes do? They sum up the previous research and present findings, not a lot of "doing" science in there, but valid nonetheless. Sorry, but accurate summations of large bodies of research is still valid, even if one didn't do the research. the negative of the casual tone is that those who are invested in keeping the absurdity of racism alive and well will pretend Evans doesn't "do" science here and should be discounted. So while he states his opinion he also backs it up with the research and conclusions of experts, so this isn't someone just spewing his own ideas. His summaries are accurate and most of his conclusions are also the conclusions the vast majority of scientists and researchers have come to. The positive is that it is quite readable even though he cites and discusses much of the science past and present. That conversational tone has both some advantages and some drawbacks.
Skin Deep: Journeys in the Divisive Science of Race from Gavin Evans is an overview of the science, and the pseudo-science, of race told in a much more conversational tone than many such books. Examining the latest research on how intelligence develops and laying out new discoveries in genetics, paleontology, archaeology, and anthropology to unearth the truth about our shared past, Skin Deep demolishes the pernicious myth that our race is our destiny and instead reveals what really makes us who we are. If these studies were true, they would provide an intellectual justification for inequality and discrimination. No longer limited to the fringe, race-based studies of intelligence have been discussed by thinkers such as Sam Harris and Jordan Peterson. Does racism have a rational basis in science? In Skin Deep, Gavin Evans tackles head-on the debate that has been raging on internet message boards and in academic journals. REALITY: Modern intelligence evolved tens of thousands of years earlier, leading to the birth of culture in Africa. MYTH: Between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago, a ‘cognitive revolution’ led to the birth of culture in Europe. REALITY: The first Europeans had dark skin, black, curly hair and blue eyes. Everything you need to know about race (but were afraid to ask).
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