Friday, June 1, 2007

On a more positive note

This is how to combine feminism and science. (H/T Mad Melancholic Feminista.) Congratulations to Elizabeth Hyde and Janet Spelke for showing us how it's done.

If I'm touchy about science this week, blame my reading group: they've all decided they want to read Luce Irigaray's Ethics of Sexual Difference. Twisty, in the post I linked to, made a common and understandable mistake. Irigaray just doesn't understand science at all. Even though Irigaray calls herself a feminist, and I call myself a feminist, we seem to have nothing in common. I agree with Bricmont and Sokal's take on her work. (Don't let anybody tell you they're crude verificationists if you hadn't read the book. They support the philosophy and sociology of science, as long as it's done in an intellectually responsible way.)

Oh, and if you're looking for something else to read, don't bother with Irigaray. Go learn about stereotype threat instead.

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