,
18 tweets,
5 min read
Read on Twitter
1. In NYT’s Race/Related newsletter this week, I quote neuroscientist @NathanASmith1. He wondered how many scientists privately share Nobelist Jim Watson’s view that blacks are less intelligent than whites. I didn’t have space for the full story behind his quote. But here it is:
2. Shared with @NathanASmith1’s permission: “I will never forget something that happened to me during my first postdoc… [MORE]
3. “I remember emailing a really big guy in the field of neuroscience to discuss an issue I noticed in his transgenic mice. He didn’t know what I looked like but over the phone he thought I was white. So we finally met up at a Gordon Conference MORE
4. "and he was shocked that I was black. He said ‘I thought you were white.’ He kept repeating it and the other PIs in the vicinity of the conversation walked off. MORE
5. “I pulled him to the side and informed him everything he was saying was offensive but he was just so flabbergasted that I was not white that I doubt what I was saying was registering. MORE
6. “He said ‘this is impossible. Were you adopted, what do your parents do for work? The African American who worked for me does not talk like you.’ MORE
7. “This is why I strongly believe we need to address this issue. For Watson to say that it was ok for him to say this in private just makes me think back to my experience and how internal biases will hinder the diversification of science. MORE
8. “Once that guy saw that I was black he then assumed I was completely wrong about his mice.’’ MORE
9. Dr. Smith’s personal story, which I’m grateful to him for allowing me to share, relates to a lot of the convos I’m seeing/ hearing about my Watson reporting. nytimes.com/2019/01/01/sci…
10. When my story ran, a number of scientists said I shouldn't have reported on Watson resurfacing the views for which he’d once apologized. Hard to wrap my head around that but, paraphrasing: “scientists already know this & the public doesn’t need to.’'
11. Many also dismissed the idea raised in my story that, had biomedical research managed to train and hire more black scientists over the last half-century, Watson’s views on intelligence would have been tempered by what was in front of his own eyes.
12. But here’s a stat from my story deserving more attention: only 1.5% of @nih grant applicants are black. These grants are the main source of biomedical research funding -it's only because so few occupy positions where they CAN apply that the # is so low diversity.nih.gov/building-evide…
13. And here’s a stat from the General Social Survey that continues to shock me: 23% of whites in America think whites are more intelligent than blacks. familyinequality.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/sur…
14. I interviewed four black scientists for this story. It’s a small sample size. But all of them said they felt Watson’s comments were a) all too relevant to their lives in science today and b) representation is not the solution to racist attitudes, but makes a difference.
15. I’ve interviewed a lot of biologists over the last year, every one of whom was deeply concerned about racism in America, and the extent to which science was being misused to help fuel it. Many were trying to combat it. I’m not casting aspersions on the field.
16. But I am saying, a) it’s too easy to dismiss Watson as an anomalous crank, because the view he holds is embarrassingly common b) it fuels discrimination everywhere including science c) if reporting on Watson brings out stories like @NathanASmith1’s, that’s good enough for me.
17. I’m thinking a lot about those neuroscientists who overheard a senior member of their field making a junior black scientist uncomfortable at a fancy conference and walked away.
18. Here’s a link to the Race/Related newsletter signup page. It collects NYT reporting on race in one place once a week with a short, often personal commentary from the great @laurettaland. Highly recommend. nytimes.com/newsletters/ra…
