Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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!)

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.

As a female engineer -- somewhat cynical about organised religion and having experienced the maleness of scientific academia and profession -- I found this to be one of the most interesting, entertaining, and intelligent books I have read in a long time. Firstly, it presents a concise and very readable account of the illuminating history and sociology of science, mathematics and engineering (to which their students sadly gain far too little exposure). Secondly, the argument adds a new dimension and depth (for some reason hidden until now!) to our understanding of the perceived barriers facing women to the study and practice of science, mathematics, and engineering. This issue has gained increasing attention from universities and professional institutions, who at least claim to be attempting to remedy the situation. All our attempts would be wiser for a better understanding of the deep-seated cultural and institutional bases of this bias, and for a better appreciation of the significant but largely unsung contributions of women to our scientific progress. Concerning the debate about the "feminisation" of science: the author's point-of-view is not a new one, but she certainly argues the case with more vigour and valid evidence than previous accounts I have read. As a fresh and enlightened contribution to an ongoing debate, I think this book deserves a place in the literature. Credit where credit's due to the author for her hard work and boldness!

Wertheim manages to count an interesting story of the history of natural science. The heroes in the stories are the female scientists (and their supporting spouses and fathers) that through the ages managed to overcome the semi-religious forces that excluded them from the scientific society.
I can of course only agree with her that the situation for women in science still is far from easy. Measures should indeed be taken to encourage girls to study the sciences, to prevent teachers from (unknowingly) give more attention to boys than to girls, etc... Undoubtedly, some brilliant discoveries came to humanity centuries late (or not al all?) because only half of the thinking population was given the chance to explore the 'wonders of nature'.
It escapes me however why Wertheim thinks that female scientists would change the face (and not only the pace) of science. First she writes about how men and women have the same intellectual capabilities and how all differences between them can be traced back to different educations, and then in the final chapter she starts predicting how female particle scientists would be inclined to investigate more 'earthly' domains and how their research would serve manhood better than that of their male colleagues.

I'm afraid that particle scientists will always, male or female, be the kind of people spending billions of dollars looking for some abstract and useless 'truth'. But then again, it might not be so stupid to spend some money on research you don't expect any 'use' from. It's a proven method.

Whether approached out of an interest in cosmology, mathematics, gender politics or Christian apologetics Wertheim's masterful (can I use that word?) treatment tracing the relationship between theology and mathematics will not disappoint.

The enthusiasm of the reader only enhances the weight of scholarship represented by this book. Unless one is the ultimate "renaissance person" the reader is bound to find new angles, a lot of information and a few surprises in what Wertheim has woven together.

Reframing some pivotal moments in intellectual history and recontextualizing some of the great cosmological questions of today Wertheim opens up a whole world of mind-changing implications for the thoughtful reader. If you read Pythagoras' Trousers with that end in mind then I am confident you will not be disappointed.

Paul Wallis: author 'Be Thou My Breastplate - 40 days of giving your life to God the Celtic way.' "This serene, superb...book is...a rich gift to the Church." (Phyllis Tickle)

Reading "Pythagoras' Trousers" is like listening to a conservative talk show. You often in this book come across ideas that you might not ordinarily think about, yet ultimately the willingness of the author to distort historical facts to fit her preconceived worldview (one that is clear despite her denial in the forward) makes the book a failed effort. I also got the impression that the author had difficulty remembering her own claims, judging by the number of times she seems to contradict herself. For example, in the introduction, she says

"Since a theory of everything would be not only irrelevant to daily human life and concerns, but also incomprehensible to the vast majority of people, TOE physicists can be likened to the late medieval Scholastics."

But later, in discussing 19th century investigations of electromagnetism, she says

"Unlike the founders of thermodynamics, the founders of electromagnetic theory were not trying to solve any practical problems but merely trying to understand the mysterious phenomena of magnetism and electricity."

apparently blind to the contradiction between these two claims. There is certainly a place for "problem solving" science targeted towards improving current technology, but there is also a place for "speculative science". To say that a TOE will be irrelevant to daily life may turn out to be true, but as the example of the development of electromagnetic theory demonstrates, it may well be wrong. I would argue that a greater understanding of the world is of interest independent of any practical applications, but the point here is that it is impossible to say where a particular scientific thread will lead. For half a century Einstein's theory of relativity, special and general, was difficult to even test, yet GPS technology requires an understanding of his theory. The development of quantum theory was driven by a desire to understand nature and not because of any practical applications anticipated to derive from such understanding. Curiosity driven science is at least as important as goal directed science.

The author does a much better job in demonstrating how women have been systematically excluded from the sciences, particularly physics and mathematics. One can strongly believe that all groups that have historically been excluded from participating in the scientific endeavor should be strongly encouraged to do so - and one can believe this without buying into the author's additional belief that this will somehow transform science.

On balance this is a book worth reading - but it is a book that should be read with an open but critical mind.

"Pythagoras' Trousers: God, Physics & The Gender Wars," Margaret Wertheim, NY, Random House, 1995 ISBN: 0-8129-2200-Xm HC 280 pgs., (10 pgs. Biblio., Index 18 pgs.), 9 1/2" x 6 1/4"

An Australian writer with BS major in physics & BA major in math, Wertheim writes with exemplary literary style & credits include science/tech writings for TV, Radio, & consequential magazines.

Her thesis is summarized in the book's last sentence: "The time has come for a mathematically based science envisioned and practiced equally by both sexes." Literally, this equates to physics being historically & currently still dominated by males (in same fashion as Catholic Priesthood bars women) & whose mission or quest in finding the Theory of Everything (TOE) is misdirected & financially irresponsible - but that society would benefit by having the woman's touch or participation by virtue of females having been acculturated differently.

The author quite brilliantly reviews & chronicles the sciences of math-based astronomy & physics with respect to who, what, where, why & how important findings arose & were received by populace, Popes or "religiosa", & fellow scientists from ancient times to the present - noting & documenting the all but rare females of science who were, in effect, banned by decree or barred from participation. Those female exceptions (Marie Curie, etc.) are exposed in considerable detail, fully noting their censures, the hostile criticisms & limitations under which they were forced to function.

The book is written largely from a feminist's viewpoint, one who has thoroughly documented the cause celebre. I'd disagree with the author's desire to abdandon the quest for the General Unified Theory (GUT) or TOE as too expernsive & socially irresponsible. The book title's reference to his trousers is given in Chapter 1. It is a very good read & we obtain a good account of religion & science, at times wed & other times waging war with the other.

This book should be compulsory reading for all science teachers, yet the science is simple enough that the book can be appreciated by the non-science focused. The complex vocabulary keeps the reader on their toes, but is well worth the effort for the fanastically simple portrayal of the history of science and mathematics, and the implications of this history on persceptions and directions of science today.

This book is cliche ridden vitriolic feminist rant against the physics community. The author thinks that male physicists interested in the Theory Of Everything need "a major personality realignment". She thinks that universal suffrage is one of the primary forces that has shaped modern Western culture along with physics and parliamentary democracy. To support this she unconvincingly attempts to upgrade the role of women in physics with long boring sections about obscure women physicists. Did you know that Barbara McClintock's notions have revolutionized genetics or that Lovelock's Gaia theory was enabled by his female colleague? There are various insinuations of God, religion, and Christianity in various arguments through the book. The conclusion is that if we re-populate the physics community with a different type of male and a lot more women, including some with the force of religion in their lives then physics can focus on "different goals and dreams", not particles and forces. Bah! Don't waste your time and money on this one.