I dont know how true it is but i had heard that british archers would taunt attacking frenchmen with their middle finger because when captured the archers would have their middle fingers chopped off apparently it was very difficult to fire a bow without that finger. Galileos fingers to be displayed in florence science. Apr 04, 2016 the central theme of galileos middle finger is the importance of the scientific pursuit of truth to the wider social pursuit of justice to dreger, these aims go hand in hand, with factual accuracy as a necessity for effective advocacy. Galileos middle finger 2015 tackles head on the controversial issue of transgender research and the conflicts that have arisen between academics, scientists and activists.
Download pdf galileo s middle finger book full free. The wonderful image of galileo s finger specifically, the middle finger of his right hand, which is preserved in the museo di storia della scienza in florence, italy leads off the whole book, and introduces its methodological undercurrent. This item exemplifies the celebration of galileo as a hero and martyr of science. Theres no official explanation to it, its anyones guess. Last year, the museum director announced that the thumb and middle finger from galileo s right hand had turned up at an auction and were recognised as being the fingers of the scientist, who died. Galileos middle finger season 2015 episode 03182015. The finger was removed by one anton francesco gori on march 12, 1737, 95. Heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science pdf by alice domurat dreger. That explains her homage to galileo, whose mummified middle finger she saw in a museum in florence. Alice dreger, galileos middle finger transformative studies institute. Book excerpt from galileos middle finger in chapter 4, a showme state of mind, author alice dreger describes the start of her journey studying scientists who had conducted controversial research. The stolen body parts were revered as the relics of a saint, despite galileo being deemed the biggest heretic on earth at the time, the planet which the average 17th century mind deemed to be a static, motionless center of the universe. School district 11 cannot be responsible for the content of any site external to its own.
Even as i started alice dregers compelling new book, galileo s middle finger. The finger points skyward to symbolize his opening the heavens to scientific investigation, she writes, while at the same time giving the finger in defiance of vatican authority. May 28, 20 as with a fine wine, it took some years for galileos fingers to age into something worth snapping off his skeletal hand. Galileos middle finger florence, italy atlas obscura. The most famous middle finger on earth belongs to galileo. The obverse shows a portion of his portrait and his telescope. When people ask me how transgender is different from intersex, i usually start by saying that that intersex and transgender people have historically suffered from the opposite problems. Apr 19, 2015 galileos middle finger is many things. An investigation of some of the most contentious debates of our time, galileo s middle finger describes alice dregers 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.
The question is legit, because when you point at something you use the index not the middle, the index finger is also known as the pointer finger by a reason. Book excerpt from galileos middle finger the scientist. Even as i started alice dregers compelling new book, galileos middle finger. Galileos middle finger corrects this misperception in a rather jarring fashion, and.
Galileo s middle finger is a fascinating, passionate, utterly engaging, and very odd book. Galileo s middle finger is written by alice dreger, professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at the feinberg school of medicine in chicago. In the galileo museum in florence, italy, carefully and lovingly preserved by his admirers in an ornate and gilded glass bubble, is the middle finger of galileo, the 16thcentury scientist and mathematician whose research and writings propelled science and discovery into its present day form. Heretics, activists, and one scholars search for justice kindle edition by alice dreger. Dreger tells the story in her new book on scientific controversies, galileos middle finger. As someone who holds more than a couple unpopular opinions, i took away several lessons from the book. Last year, the museum director announced that the thumb and middle finger from galileo s right hand had turned up at an auction and were recognized as being the fingers of the scientist who died. Galileo s middle finger is a glimpse into dregers world of activism and scholarship, the particulars of the bailey smear, and how activists and academics handle controversies. Galileo s middle finger available for download and read online in other formats. The vessel that contains the finger bears a remarkable inscription.
This coin also commemorates the 400th anniversary of the invention of galileos telescope. Galileos middle finger describes dregers long and harrowing journeys between the two camps for which she felt equal empathy. It is fitting that as i was reading alice dregers new book galileo s middle finger, news reports were full of deflategate, in which the new england patriots were accused of. Dreger neglects relevant issues faced by trans women 3. The title of her engaging book about science contro versies, galileos middle finger, summarizes her feisty attitude. It looks like other middle fingers, but, like dreger, its apparently more galilean. Galileos fingers to be displayed in florence science museum. Galileos stolen fingers put on display in florence museum. Heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science a book by alice dreger.
I have no clue if it s true or not, verification would be great. Centuries after vanishing, galileos fingers on display in. Galileos middle finger is a 2015 book about the ethics of medical research by alice dreger. Alice dregers galileos middle finger psychology today. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading galileo s middle finger. May some of ebooks not available on your country and only available for those who subscribe and depend to the source of library websites.
Alice dreger, autogynephilia, and the misrepresentation of. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read galileos middle finger. They remind us that, in the face of harmful threats and accusations. During his life, he was hounded, tried, convicted and punished by the. The wonderful image of galileos finger specifically, the middle finger of his right hand, which is preserved in the museo di storia della scienza in florence, italy leads off the whole book, and introduces its methodological undercurrent. Galileos middle finger, by alice dreger the new york times. Near galileo s tomb in florence is a shrine exhibiting galileo s middle finger. A question remains, why the middle finger and not the index finger. Today visitors can admire it, sitting in a small glass egg among scientific instruments, while visiting the museum.
This, the guidebook explained, was galileo s middle finger. For two decades, historian alice dreger has led a life of extraordinary engagement, combining activist service to victims of unethical medical research with defense of scientists whose work has outraged identity politics activists. Heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science, by alice dreger, a medical historian who has spent much of the past decade studying controversies in science. Heretics, activists, and one scholars search for justice 9780143108115. Heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science by alice dreger was one of the first books in 2016 for my library and it will certainly be goto book over the coming months and years with regard to science, activism and the large area where the two can intersect. Its all the more effective because author alice dreger sympathizes with many of the goals of the feminist and transgender activists whose outrageous searchanddestroy tactics she recounts in the book. Visitors tend to treat it as though its a saintly relic but irony of fate galileo was not a saint. Galileo s finger the ten great ideas of science peter atkins. Heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science, is a funny, surprising story of dreger s career as an activist, researcher. Heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science, an engrossing volume that is sure to undo any lingering notions that academic debate is the province of empiricists who pledge allegiance to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the. Kipnis had criticized new codes regulating sexual relations. It is the only fragment of a human in a museum thats dedicated to scientific instruments, specifically. Social and cultural factors do not account for the clinical realities of gender dysphoria 4.
Oct 08, 2015 galileos middle finger part two this is the second of my articles discussing the book galileos middle finger, by alice dreger. Galileos finger peter atkins oxford university press. Galileo s middle finger pdf download full download pdf book. Heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science, dregers colleague at northwestern, author and film professor laura kipnis, was the target of a title ix investigation for publishing an opinion piece in the chronicle of higher education kipnis 2015a. Her recounting of the disputes surrounding this sexual theory is just one of many vignettes intended to. She describes learning about how babies born with mixtures of male and female characters were altered surgically and chemically. Galileos middle finger, by alice dreger penguin press. Her book is a personal account of her own involvement in a series of medical and ethical issues, over two decades of. Posted on april 17, 2015 by david dobbs 6 comments. Galileo s middle finger describes dregers long and harrowing journeys between the two camps for which she felt equal empathy.
Galileo s middle finger is a 2015 book about the ethics of medical research by alice dreger, an american bioethicist and author. These cover a range of fields, from pediatrics to sexuality, criminology and anthropology. No doubt its difficult to find out galileo s reaction about his middle finger s story, we wish we. Pdf galileo s middle finger download full pdf book. Galileos middle finger, by alice dreger the new york. The first section of galileos middle finger describes the authors involvement in helping to establish rights for intersex children. The museum has had the third galileo finger since 1927, so the digits will be reunited for the first time in centuries, he added.
An investigation of some of the most contentious debates of our time, galileo s middle finger describes alice dregers 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. Oh, and dreger also visited florence once and saw galileos mummified middle finger. Ultimately what emerges is a lesson about the intertwining of justice and of truthand a lesson of the. Dreger explores the relationship between science and social justice by discussing a number of scientific controversies. What happens when science collides with empathy in quotation marks by lou agosta on april 24, 2015 1 join me for a conversation on radio empathy click here for show with alice dreger about the conflict between scientific evidence and some interpretations of social justice and empathy in. It seems that when galileo s body was moved, a century after his death, from a too ordinary grave the grave of a heretic to the grand tomb in the basilica the grave of a hero, a devotee chopped off galileo s middle finger.
Galileos middle finger is one americans eyeopening story of life in the trenches of scientific controversy. Debate within the scientific community is hardly more civilized than a facebook fight, as alice dreger investigates in galileo s middle finger. Galileo, one of whose fingers is preserved in a vessel displayed in florence, provided much of the impetus for modern science, pointing the way out of medieval ignorance. Heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science, dregers colleague at northwestern, author and film professor laura kipnis, was the target of a title ix investigation for publishing an opinion piece in the chronicle of higher. Oh, and dreger also visited florence once and saw galileo s mummified middle finger. Of all dislocated body parts, galileo s middle finger proved most attentionworthy. A wooden bust of galileo is located on top of the container, in which the middle finger is kept. When scholars and activists clash over controversial research, we all lose a feminist historian investigates the high price paid by. Dregers subject is not galileo, but a series of stories about contemporary scientific controversies.
Bloody hell good post i feel that we are not going to. Heretics, activists, and one scholars search for justice is an excellent read. This coin also commemorates the 400th anniversary of the invention of galileo s telescope. After seeing it years ago, dreger came to regard it as her personal talisman. Science historian alice dreger recalls being 25 years old and in graduate school. Historian alice dreger s new book, galileo s middle finger. After several studies and much research on historical documents, the family helped experts to identify the remains, and now the tooth and fingers are part of the permanent collection of the galileo museum. If you havent already, it makes sense to start reading at part one, which discusses intersex individuals. Ultimately what emerges is a lesson about the intertwining of justice and truthand a lesson of the.
Pick up the key ideas in the book with this quick summary. Galileos middle finger has since been joined by his index finger, thumb, and tooth enclosed in a bell jar. Galileos middle finger rests in a glass egg in florence. 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. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Has galileos middle finger by alice dreger been sitting on your reading list. These blinks offer a behindthescenes look at just how dangerous an idea can be when it challenges a familiar narrative or an established ideology. Galileo s middle finger this ebook list for those who looking for to read galileo s middle finger, you can read or download in pdf, epub or mobi. Atlas obscura cofounder dylan tells you about the most interesting places in the world. At the moment, the middle finger of galileo rests in a small egg made of glass. It is fitting that as i was reading alice dregers new book galileos middle finger, news reports were full of. If you are a science geek the galileo museum of the history of science in florence, italy, is a treasure house of wonder even though its almost everything a science museum should not be. Galileo s middle finger, by alice dreger table of contents introduction 1. It refers to a display at the uffizi gallery in florence, italy.
A powerful defense of intellectual freedom told through the ordeals of contemporary scientists attacked for exploring controversial ideas, by a noted science historian and medical activist an investigation of some of the most contentious debates of our time, galileos middle finger describes. By linking to other sites, d11 is not endorsing any particular product, practice, service, provider or institution, nor does it necessarily endorse views expressed or facts presented on these sites. Galileo s middle finger documents, in a meticulous evidencebased way, dregers journey from her ph. Heretics, activists, and one scholars search for justice ebook written by alice dreger. The museum director revealed the thumb and middle finger from galileo s right hand had turned up at an auction and were recognised as being the fingers of the scientist who died in 1642. This is the second of my articles discussing the book galileo s middle finger, by alice dreger. The former history of science museum is now the galileo museum. Galileo galilei was recently selected as a main motif for a high value collectors coin. Mar 09, 2015 book excerpt from galileos middle finger in chapter 4, a showme state of mind, author alice dreger describes the start of her journey studying scientists who had conducted controversial research. An impassioned defense of intellectual freedom and a clarion call to intellectual responsibility. Heretics, activists, and one scholars search for justice. Galileos middle finger by alice dreger overdrive rakuten. Heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science. Jun 08, 2010 two of galileo s fingers, removed from his corpse by admirers in the 18th century, have gone on display in a florence museum now named after the astronomer.
1046 1616 722 789 862 1152 44 491 82 66 494 426 1351 398 1577 1185 1086 1510 389 636 981 853 188 1167 291 1310 151 1038 10 7 1278 401 676 1155 637 921