Galileo's Middle Finger by Alice Domurat Dreger

Galileo’s Middle Finger corrects this misperception in a rather jarring fashion, and that’s why it’s one of the most important social-science books of 2015.” – New York Magazine “Many liberals, after all, have convinced themselves that it’s conservatives who attack science in the name of politics, while they would never do such a thing. In other words: activists…I suspect most readers will find that her witnessing of these wild skirmishes provides a splendidly entertaining education in ethics, activism and science.” – The New York Times’ Editors’ Choice Wilson, accused of fomenting rightwing ideas about human nature.“ from this mess emerged not only a sharp, disruptive scholar but this smart, delightful book…This book’s energizing discovery is that sometimes those wielding such power are not the usual suspects, such as Big Brother or Big Business, but self-appointed guardians of the nonpowerful.

Among the subjects she covers in the book are the anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon, falsely accused in a bestselling book of committing genocide against a South American tribe the psychologist Michael Bailey, accused of abusing transgender women and the evolutionary biologist E. Troubled, she traveled around the country digging up sources and interviewing the targets of these politically motivated campaigns. But even as she worked to correct these injustices, Dreger began to witness how some fellow liberal activists, motivated by identity politics, were employing lies and personal attacks to silence scientists whose data revealed inconvenient truths. By bringing evidence to physicians and the public, she helped change the medical system.

The shocking history of surgical mutilation and ethical abuses conducted in the name of 'normalizing' intersex children moved her to become a patient rights' activist. Dreger's own attempts to reconcile academic freedom with the pursuit of justice grew out of her research into the treatment of people born intersex (formerly called hermaphrodites). 'An investigation of some of the most contentious debates of our time, Galileo's Middle Finger describes Alice Dreger's experiences on the front lines of scientific controversy, where for two decades she has worked as an advocate for victims of unethical research while also defending the right of scientists to pursue challenging research into human identities.

Galileo's Middle Finger by Alice Domurat Dreger