Pythagoras's Trousers: God, Physics, and the Gender War [Paperback]

Margaret Wertheim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 1997

A spirited look at the relationship between physics and religion—and the implications for both sexes.

Here is a fresh, astute social and cultural history of physics, from ancient Greece to our own time. From its inception, Margaret Wertheim shows, physics has been an overwhelmingly male-dominated activity; she argues that gender inequity in physics is a result of the religious origins of the enterprise.

Pythagoras' Trousers is a highly original history of one of science's most powerful disciplines. It is also a passionate argument for the need to involve both women and men in the process of shaping the technologies from the next generation of physicists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Fascinating. . . . A delight to read, and highly informative. (Keith Devlin - Nature )

Smart, bold, and provocative. . . . Sure to evoke even more interest than it does controversy. (Evelyn Fox Keller, professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, author of Reflections on Gender and Science )

Remarkable. . . . A fascinating journey through the intellectual history that has shaped our current post-modern, scientific, and religious culture. (J. Wentzel van Huyssteen, Princeton Theological Seminary )

[An] immensely accessible tour. . . . How the physics lab became another Vatican with a no-girls-allowed sign on its door. (Susan Faludi, author of Backlash )

From the Inside Flap

This astute social and cultural history of physics explores how the development of physics has been intertwined with the rising power of institutionalized religion, and how both these predominantly masculine pursuits have influenced women's ability to join the physics community, the science itself, and the picture of reality it portrays. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (September 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393317242
• ISBN-13: 978-0393317244
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #431,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting ideas, but a rushed and clumsy conclusion, December 16, 1997

By 

Catherine Stanton ([e-mail]) (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pythagoras' Trousers:: Physics, Faith, and Feminism (Hardcover)

I found this a very interesting book. I studied a lot of science and math in college, before turning to accounting and law, and the gender "wars" apply to those two fields as well. Wertheimer is to be congratulated on explaining the main findings in physics so simply and clearly.

However I have a few quibbles:
Why the obsession with Nobel prizes? There are heaps of science-related prizes, and from a statistical point of view, it could be that the Nobel folks' gender problems could affect their choice of other catetory winners, too.
Why do we have to justify that women should be allowed into science to "humanise" it? Women do not have to justify their participation, or lack of participation in any field. As human beings, they are entitled to participate anywhere, anytime, anyhow.
I am rather annoyed at so many people wanting to blame teachers for girls and women not taking up certain subjects. Sure, I've had my share of teachers that made mefeel good about myself and those who totally ignored me (or my 4th grade teacher who made me reread books I read in 3rd grade --no, I STILL haven't forgetten that!).
But I think that more importantly we also need to look at the support and messages children get from their family units in terms of helping them with homework , going along to parent-teacher conferences and school nights (ie giving the message that school counts), and giving girls analytical toys like jigsaw puzzles, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Mr Wizard science kits, DIY radios, etc, and watching Nova together.

I am so thankful that my parents helped me keep my sense of wonder and urged me to put my thinking cap on, even as far back(!) as the '60s, before the days of Title IX and EEO. I still wait each month for my Scientific American to come in the mail, and checked my e-mail a few months back for the latest Mars photos.

That having been said, as a CPA, I sure wish I knew how to get more girls interested in accounting as well as science. We only have 4 women at my office, and we enjoy our work so much! I would like other girls to think about finance instead of supermodelling as a career possibility. I knew when I was a girl that it was either pure science or finance for me, and I was right.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable book; less than scholarly but more than truthful!, December 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Pythagoras's Trousers: God, Physics, and the Gender War (Paperback)

A number of (male) chemistry and physics colleagues recommended this book to me before I read it. After I read it (one of my first books about gender and science) I had to agree with them that it was outstanding - a delightful and eye-opening book for scientists and science students who, like me, had never been exposed to more rigorous writings in gender studies. Wertheim's message is not one that the die-hard, non-feminist, scientist wants to hear. The looseness of the historical and philosophical writing gives feminism's detractors ample grounds, therefore, on which to denigrate it. But truth is truth - and this book rings true on all levels that I (a Full Professor of Physics) can probe. Now that I have read other books in the field of gender studies, I know that there are plenty of extremely tightly reasoned and readable books by e.g. Shapin, Noble and Sheibinger that one can follow up with. (These would convince the skeptical reader - if he will allow himself to be convinced - that Wertheim's conclusions are extremely well-founded!)

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great selection for a book club!, December 5, 2005

By 

Chris Byrne (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pythagoras's Trousers: God, Physics, and the Gender War (Paperback)

As a female engineer currently teaching college-level physics, I love this book! Wertheim explores 3 of my favorite topics (God, Physics, and Gender) in an immensely readable way. She persuasively sets Western Science into its cultural context, including its religious context. I found her conclusions to be careful - women can bring different perspectives into the field of physics not because of innate differences, but because in general, we have been acculturated differently.

While I have read many of the science/gender studies authors that Wertheim cites in her book (e.g. Merchant, Harding, Noble), I would compare Wertheim to an author such as Dava Sobel (Longitude; Galileo's Daughter). Like Sobel, she writes to an intelligent readership without assuming an expertise in the topic. I have given "Pythagoras' Trousers" to friends with little background in science, but an interest in gender issues (I suggested it for a book club reading). I also lent it to my mom who was drawn to the "God" part of the title. They all thoroughly enjoyed the book and learned more about the subject I teach. We were able to have some wonderful conversations.