Mismeasure of Man (1981) by Stephen Jay Gould

The Mismeasure of Man (1981) by the legendary Harvard biologist Stephen Jay Gould should be required reading for anyone considering to be a scientist. Though everyone would benefit a great deal from reading it.





While at times (a lot of times actually) the book is sad and stirs up harsh emotions against those who made mistakes (both intentional and unintentional) for their own political agenda or plain, disgusting bigotry. It also shows how these mistakes have had broad and lingering effects in both science and society, including in the legal system, the military, and in education. Overall, though, this book is hopeful and in a way a tribute to the strength of scientific methodology in spite of the actions of scientists.




The book focuses on the history of the science and the effects of biological determinism. This biological determinism is used in the sense that certain human races are 'more highly evolved' than other races. The general conclusion of it is that whites are the apex of man and blacks are barely human, with different shades of skin color and biological status in between. It should be noted that biological determinism is by no means a product of evolutionary theory and has creationist roots predating Darwin’s work. The whole hideous phenomenon was not just some cult of racist scientists isolated some time in the past.




That is the book’s vehicle, but it’s not its theme – the theme is huge. While there are charlatans and there are forgers and liars, any scientist’s work can be victimized by the hand of his or her own bias, intentional or not. And while the possibilities, if not the likelyhood, of bias bastardizing science into something that negatively affects the lives of millions of people, scientific methodology can come to the rescue through its use in reexamination. Science always gives us a shot at objectivity as long as we have the data and we strive for it, because scientific methodology has developed, and continues to develop, to eliminate human bias and insure objectivity. We’ll always have hope because we’re trying to grow, and the book shows that.




The Mismeasure of Man is a must read for those wanting to understand science, what it is, and that’s on top of its very important subject material that speaks about something that has affected millions of lives and the course of human history signficantly. I scored the book for a dollar in a set with The Panda’s Thumb (1980), another SJ Gould book, at a garage sale. It was the best dollar I’ve ever spent, because Gould used it to teach me a lot about science, and about people who are scientists. It's available at your local library.