![[what I read in 2002]](/images/review_banner.gif)
« April »
The Mismeasure of Man ::
Stephen Jay Gould wrote The Mismeasure of Man, at least in part, to dispel the myth that the abstract concept of human intelligence is something that is biologically determined, and that it is not only immutable, but that it is quantifiable through scientific observation and intelligence testing. Starting with the practice of Craniometry in the Nineteenth Century, then moving to IQ testing that developed in the last 100 years, he profiles scientists and psychologists who develop a way of quantifying human intelligence. In each profile, the scientist is hit with an inconclusive or contradictory set of data, and in each instance, Gould points to the person’s underlying prejudices and racial misconceptions, which originally buttressed their conclusions, but ultimately resulted in their undermining.
The main strength of The Mismeasure of Man is that it fundamentally works to disabuse us of the myth of the reification of intelligence. Gould goes in to excruciating detail on how, precisely, complex practices such as Factor Analysis fail when they are used to determine human intelligence. However, by focusing on hard science (much of which, I must admit, was over my head), the book lacks discussion on how we might change our educational practices in such a way that they are more inclusive and beneficial to a more diverse group of people. I am aware that such a topic is well outside the scope of the book, nonetheless, now that I have accepted Gould’s argument, I am at a loss as to where we move from here.
So, more than twenty years after its original publication, and in spite of its lack of a “vision for the next step,” I think The Mismeasure of Man is still as important as it was when it first came out in 1981. Just eight years before its first publication, people were being affected in very real ways by the Buck v. Bell Supreme Court decision (which legalized sterilization of people who lacked a certain amount of “innate” intelligence); in the past decade, we saw the publication of The Bell Curve, which influenced public policy (although in a limited way) in spite of its mean-spiritedness and poor science. Seeing these conditions indicates that The Mismeasure of Man will continue to be important until our political and educational institutions no longer demand that some children be left behind.
Underground ::
On March 20, 1995, five high ranking members of the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo cult entered the Tokyo train system at different points. They boarded their trains, sat down and waited. At a pre-determined time, they punctured the newspaper-wrapped bags of fluid they carried with them with the sharpened tip of their umbrellas. They then left the trains at the next stop. Slowly, the remaining people on the trains became ill. They began coughing, then their pupils became constricted. Chaos began to build throughout the city, and Japan was soon facing one of the most significant instances of terrorism in their history. Though very few people died in the attack (in comparison to the number of people exposed), many were reduced to a vegetative state, and still more were forced to bear emotional scars and trauma for the rest of their lives. The chaos of that day is unimaginable for anyone who did not experience it.
The Tokyo Gas Attack was portrayed was portrayed by Japanese health care organization as a challenge which was overcome by fast thinking as good communication. It was portrayed by the media (both in the country and internationally) as a clear-cut battle between the innocent victims of the attack and the perfectly evil perpetrators. However, nowhere else, outside of Underground, do we have an opportunity to hear the stories of the people who survived the attack. In this book, not only does Murakami get the accounts of victims, but he also interviews people involved with the Aum cult (who where not involved with the gas attack). The end result of all these interviews is a very complex, multidimensional tapestry of narratives, which reveals not only the fear and heroism of those on the trains, but the loneliness and destitute feelings of those who were a part of the Aum cult. Reading it is an emotionally trying, chaotic and nearly incomprehensible experience.
« top »