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4.0 

The Disordered Cosmos

By Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
The Disordered Cosmos by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

From a star theoretical physicist, “a love letter to the wonderous universe we call home, and an urge to think critically about how we explore its depths” (Smithsonian Magazine)

In The Disordered Cosmos, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shares her love for physics, from the Standard Model of Particle Physics and what lies beyond it, to the physics of melanin in skin, to the latest theories of dark matter—all with a new spin informed by history, politics, and the wisdom of Star Trek.
 
One of the leading physicists of her generation, Prescod-Weinstein is also one of the first one hundred Black American women to earn a PhD from a department of physics. Her vision of the cosmos is vibrant, buoyantly nontraditional, and grounded in Black feminist traditions.

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The Disordered Cosmos Reviews

4.0
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Ruppert Mary Elizabeth

Created 10 days ago
“Read on Libby, then bought physical copy & marked it up for reference”
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DoctorNyk

Created 12 days ago
“Honestly, go read it. It's better read than to be reviewed. I know that there are huge problem with patriarch and racism in academia, but the author does a thurow job at looking into the sociology and anthropology of the scientific field, while also educating the reader about the beauty of astrophysics. Loved it, but check the trigger warnings, I had to skip one chapter because of SA, but it was the appropriate space to talk about it.”
EducationalProvocativeRewardingSpecialized knowledge requiredThought-provokingAccurateAuthoritativeCredible sourcesIn-depth analysisPersonal experienceScientificThoroughWell-researchedAddresses counterargumentsCohesiveLogical progressionWell-arguedDenseAbleismHomophobiaMisogynyRacismReligious intoleranceSexual assault
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Mya

Created 21 days ago
“Altogether this feels like the memoir of an enlightened liberal. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is a talented astrophysicist, and I really enjoyed how in the first third of the book she details various laws, principles, experiments and conflicts that still shake the scientific world to its core. As someone whose special interest has always been astronomy and quantum mechanics, I was happy to acquire more knowledge and read about new perspectives. The book quickly shifts from that to a memoir where the author tells us about her life experience. And, while doing so she exposes her limitations and biases I think without even realizing. She’s the white daughter of a biracial woman and a white man, but still decides to speak in the name of black people. That, I find to be 1) inaccurate; 2) very offensive as an unambiguously black woman myself. I am not American, but I do understand the context behind the one-drop rule and the paper bag test. Still, there’s no doubt she’d have passed the second and could cheat the first. One example (amongst many in the book) that pretty much summarizes my observation comes from the chapter tilted “The Physics of Melanin”. There, Chanda raves about the properties of eumelanin (what black skinned individuals possess), how beautiful and versatile it is, how they can in fact store energy. She also mentions writing a paper on it, only to turn around and be surprised some of her white colleagues were so inspired by what she said they proposed an experimental building entirely made of it. Through this experience she realized that black physical attributes (at least some of them) are better left alone if we want to avoid seeing ourselves exploited even more. I’m glad she grew from this experience. Just like she grew from her outrage at a black writer’s paper claiming that we infact are not magical negroes (something she details in the following chapter, “Black People are Luminous Matter”)… the best she could. But I ended up spending most of my reading rolling my eyes at her comments, wondering who this work was really directed to. I think in the end, as a black woman, I was not her target.”
EducationalBiasedPersonal experienceQuestionable expertiseScientificFragmentedLacks focusRepetitiveToo longDenseRepetitiveTechnicalAbuseBigotryMisogynyRacismSexual assault
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Toni

Created about 1 month ago
“The book was fascinating in the first portion and some moments through the remaining text. It was very interesting to hear her integrate social and scientific knowledge. I wish the whole book would had been more like the beginning. The content was great but it was sometimes hard to understand how she got from one topic to the other. I think it could have been organized in a better way.”
ProvocativeAuthoritativeCredible sourcesEvidence-basedIn-depth analysisPersonal experienceScientificWell-researchedHard to navigateAccessibleTechnicalBigotryMisogynySexual assault

About Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an associate professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. She divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts and the New Hampshire Seacoast, where she enjoys doing amateur astrophotography. 

Other books by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

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The Edge of Space-Time

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