Work Reviewed: Prescod-Weinstein, Chanda. The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred.* Bold Type Books, 2021.
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Introduction
You may have heard the term “dark matter,” but did you know that it is not actually “dark”? Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein takes us through the basics of particle physics and theoretical cosmology in The Disordered Cosmos, a work that weaves together the scientific, personal, and political in a sweeping commentary on the challenges we face in our small corner of the universe.
Five Key Themes
1. Decolonizing Science
The protest around the thirty-meter telescope on top of Maunakea in Hawaii is one case study for this issue. There are many ways in which colonialism and racism have informed the approaches of scientists for decades. All too often, the rights and the knowledge of indigenous peoples are dismissed in favor of “progress,” or “rationalism.” This leads Dr. Prescod-Weinstein to ask how we might as a society begin to decolonize science, and to challenge the so-called objectivity of white, European empiricism and Cartesian thought.
What knowledge have we as humans lost touch with through the destruction and whitewashing of indigenous cultures? And how has this loss contributed to the destruction of our environment, and our disconnection from the natural world? For example, the author cites the difficulty of accessing the night sky for people living in the city. In addition, there is the overall threat that increased pollution poses to this access for all but the most privileged.
2. Invisible Work
As the author puts it, “part of science is emptying the garbage,” (location 2833). Dr. Prescod-Weinstein highlights the unrecognized labor that has fueled scientific discovery. The necessary but often invisible or underappreciated work of maintaining a lab becomes clear in the work of figures like Caroline Herschel. Many have characterized her as her brother’s assistant, in spite of her own contributions to astronomy. In addition, the author points to the foisting of gendered work upon academics and researchers alike.
In fact, the refrain of the chapter “Wages for Scientific Housework,” is, “we are not paid for this work.” As a woman and former academic, I can attest to the validity of the examples of emotional labor and tokenism that underrepresented groups in higher education face. While much of the work that the author discusses taking on is not valuable when it comes time to a tenure decision, there are very real, if harder to trace, consequences for saying “no,” to these things.
3. The Politics of Physics
One of the chief concerns for academics in STEM is funding. Researchers must bring in hefty grants for their work, and to justify over and over again the validity of their research plans. Yet the type of work that earns funding is very much dependent on the political moment, as the author points out: “civilian funding for particle physics peaked in 1968. By 1972, it was half that, and it has been in decline ever since” (location 3543).
It is a timely observation, what with Oppenheimer cleaning up during this awards season. The physics in that movie was in service of a political agenda, as was the work of the mathematicians and scientists depicted in the movie Hidden Figures, one of the works covered in this month’s Patreon materials. These examples bring up the question of ethics for those involved in research that advances the overall state of knowledge while simultaneously contributing to nationalist, colonialist, or otherwise problematic ventures. Not to mention the long history of justifying unethical human research with arguments about the greater good.
4. The Relationship Between Data and Theory
As the author argues, “Physics is often represented as a linear sequence of singular (white, male) heroes making discoveries. The reality is more complicated. Sometimes theories come first. Sometimes the experimental data comes first” (location 618). For example, the “discovery” of dark matter does not involve so much a recognition of some tangible substance in the universe, but the realization that math regarding the mass of the universe was not adding up. There seems to be a constant interplay between theory and data in the study of physics, which becomes more complicated due to the difficulty associated with measuring and observing some of the elements the author discusses, whether dark matter or various types of quarks.
The author makes an interesting and important connection here to the stringent evidence that people in power often require in order to validate the lived experiences of members of oppressed groups. “Black women are constantly asked to provide hard evidence for our evaluations of our most commonplace experiences with discrimination, yet white men are taken seriously when they suggest that more affirming data isn’t necessary in order to test their theories of quantum gravity,” (location 2,441).
5. “Dark Matter” as a Misnomer, and the Importance of Language
The problem with calling dark matter “dark,” is that it’s not any particular color. Rather, it is invisible, at least so far, to the people trying to measure and study it. For the author, this is an example of the ways in which racist language comes into play in the practice of research. There is much unpacking of the significance of the dichotomy between light and dark. It is just as present in the terminology of the author’s discipline, as in the colorism and racism of our larger society. Throughout the chapter “Black People are Luminous Matter” –see the author’s discussion of that title in Vox – and the rest of the work, the author makes the point repeatedly that “Black people are made of the same stuff as white people,” (location 1,687). See also Linda Chaver’s point that “Black girls aren’t magical. They’re human” (Elle magazine, Jan 2016; emphasis mine).
Conclusion
For anyone looking to understand more about the universe, do check this one out. You’ll come away not only with a deeper sense of how the universe came into being and where it is headed; but also the complex and challenging lived experience of one of its many inhabitants.
This review of The Disordered Cosmos is part of the March 2024 Hidden Figures Trio. Follow me on Patreon for access to discussion and study materials for a new trio of selections each month, including access to all previous materials. Or, subscribe to my email list for updates on new posts.
