bwaber@bookwyrm.social reviewed Fatal invention by Roberts, Dorothy E.
An Essential Book on an Unfortunately Timeless Topic
5 stars
Attempts to identify biological roots of race, an inherently socially defined phenomena, goes back centuries. Roberts traces those roots here, leading to modern genetic science and fundamentally flawed attempts to use quantitative methods to claim objectivity. This book systematically deconstructs those attempts, identifying the real harms that they cause and charts paths forward for genetic science that leaves the concept of race to the social sciences.
Unfortunately this book still resonates deeply, despite the fact that it was written in the middle of the Obama administration. Roberts is incredibly prescient here, hypothesizing that the current framework of race-driven genetics will further deepen existing systematically racist systems. This work is important not just for those in the biological sciences, but folks in management and technology that use analogous methods. Highly recommend