How to Argue With a Racist: What Our Genes Do (and Don't) Say About Human Difference
- Downloads：1667
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-01 04:16:11
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Adam Rutherford
- ISBN：1615196714
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Race is not a biological reality。
Racism thrives on our not knowing this。
Racist pseudoscience has become so commonplace that it can be hard to spot。 But its toxic effects on society are plain to see—feeding white nationalism， fueling hatred， endangering lives， and corroding our discourse on everything from sports to intelligence。 Even well-intentioned people repeat stereotypes based on “science，” because cutting-edge genetics are hard to grasp—and all too easy to distort。 Paradoxically， these misconceptions are multiplying even as scientists make unprecedented discoveries in human genetics—findings that， when accurately understood， are powerful evidence against racism。 We’ve never had clearer answers about who we are and where we come from， but this knowledge is sorely needed in our casual conversations about race。
How to Argue With a Racist emphatically dismantles outdated notions of race by illuminating what modern genetics actually can and can’t tell us about human difference。 We now know that the racial categories still dividing us do not align with observable genetic differences。 In fact， our differences are so minute that， most of all， they serve as evidence of our shared humanity。
Racism thrives on our not knowing this。
Racist pseudoscience has become so commonplace that it can be hard to spot。 But its toxic effects on society are plain to see—feeding white nationalism， fueling hatred， endangering lives， and corroding our discourse on everything from sports to intelligence。 Even well-intentioned people repeat stereotypes based on “science，” because cutting-edge genetics are hard to grasp—and all too easy to distort。 Paradoxically， these misconceptions are multiplying even as scientists make unprecedented discoveries in human genetics—findings that， when accurately understood， are powerful evidence against racism。 We’ve never had clearer answers about who we are and where we come from， but this knowledge is sorely needed in our casual conversations about race。
How to Argue With a Racist emphatically dismantles outdated notions of race by illuminating what modern genetics actually can and can’t tell us about human difference。 We now know that the racial categories still dividing us do not align with observable genetic differences。 In fact， our differences are so minute that， most of all， they serve as evidence of our shared humanity。
Reviews
Tulio Baars
，
Simplório， superficial e incompleto。
Danielle Mccoy
，
Interesting genetic information on how alike we are and how limited genetics can be at this still early stages but I'm not sure it ever really explained how to use this information to argue with anyone。 Interesting genetic information on how alike we are and how limited genetics can be at this still early stages but I'm not sure it ever really explained how to use this information to argue with anyone。 。。。more
Becky
，
A very interesting look at the facts about human genetics that provides ammunition to help dispel some of the racist bullshit people come put with。
Pinja
，
tärkeä kirja， tässä mentiin monesti niin syvälle biologiaan että meni mulla yli hilseen。。。 "Rasismi on väärin， koska se on loukkaus ihmisen arvokkuutta vastaan" （s。186）"Ihmiset olivat ihonväriltään erilaisia kauan ennen Afrikasta lähtemistä ja jopa ennen lajinsa syntymistä。" （s。72）"Sanomme "musta"， kun tarkoitamme "äskettäin sellaiselta mantereelta tullut， jossa geneettinen monimuotoisuus ja pigmetoinnin monimuotoisuus on suurempi kuin missään muualla maailmassa"。" （s。76-77） tärkeä kirja， tässä mentiin monesti niin syvälle biologiaan että meni mulla yli hilseen。。。 "Rasismi on väärin， koska se on loukkaus ihmisen arvokkuutta vastaan" （s。186）"Ihmiset olivat ihonväriltään erilaisia kauan ennen Afrikasta lähtemistä ja jopa ennen lajinsa syntymistä。" （s。72）"Sanomme "musta"， kun tarkoitamme "äskettäin sellaiselta mantereelta tullut， jossa geneettinen monimuotoisuus ja pigmetoinnin monimuotoisuus on suurempi kuin missään muualla maailmassa"。" （s。76-77） 。。。more
Guy Lenk
，
Adam Rutherford is an expert who really knows genetics， and as a child of parents from two different 'races' （read the book to see why that is in pseudo-quotes） he is in a position to fully understand the weird biases of humans。 This is a really well described breakdown of the incredible number of misunderstandings that human have about themselves， and tears apart the ignorant attempts of the biased to use science to defend their bigotry。 Adam Rutherford is an expert who really knows genetics， and as a child of parents from two different 'races' （read the book to see why that is in pseudo-quotes） he is in a position to fully understand the weird biases of humans。 This is a really well described breakdown of the incredible number of misunderstandings that human have about themselves， and tears apart the ignorant attempts of the biased to use science to defend their bigotry。 。。。more
Jade Wargate
，
How to Argue With a Racist by Adam Rutherford。 I have to say it wasn’t what I was expecting， the title was pretty misleading but nevertheless it was an interesting read。 I initially thought before reading this book that it would give me inspiration to shut down any racist speech， behaviour or thinking patterns however this was far from what I got from reading it。 This book is rather based on the science of genetics。 Rutherford highlights what science has to say about race and shows that it’s onl How to Argue With a Racist by Adam Rutherford。 I have to say it wasn’t what I was expecting， the title was pretty misleading but nevertheless it was an interesting read。 I initially thought before reading this book that it would give me inspiration to shut down any racist speech， behaviour or thinking patterns however this was far from what I got from reading it。 This book is rather based on the science of genetics。 Rutherford highlights what science has to say about race and shows that it’s only real as a social construct。 Rutherford also shows how we are all related and that we all have ancestors who originally came from Africa and were dark skinned。 I don’t particularly have a science-y brain so a lot of what Rutherford was explaining went over my head but nevertheless I’m glad I read it。 If you’re interested in genetics or interested in learning how to scientifically refute racism then I think this book would be a good one to read。 。。。more
zoe
，
More reasons to love science and thanks to science for bigger love for life。 Good point of view towards human beings， with altruism enough to understand the opposite side。 Leading to choose the suitable side for human rights above all。
Karmen Skandali
，
Worth reading！
Alicia
，
What is up with these misleading titles？ Content good， but no real time spent on how to argue with racists。
Jessica
，
I appreciated the focus on science and genes to debunk most of the social arguments about race。 The section looking at athletes and the Olympics was very interesting。 The title seems a bit inaccurate， but still an interesting listen！
Rose Hathaway
，
This book is great if you deal with:- Explicit racism， think KKK， Nazis etc- Race-realists， Stefan Molyneux-type people - "Intellectual" racists- Nationalists， like EDL， UKIP， MAGA - Great Replacement conspiracy-theoristsThis book isn't for you if you want to learn about:- Type of language racists use -- eg calling immigrants "aliens"- Racist dog-whistles -- like neo-nazis will say "88" because 'H' is the 8th letter of the alphabet， so "88" means "Heil Hitler"- How history is repeating itself -- This book is great if you deal with:- Explicit racism， think KKK， Nazis etc- Race-realists， Stefan Molyneux-type people - "Intellectual" racists- Nationalists， like EDL， UKIP， MAGA - Great Replacement conspiracy-theoristsThis book isn't for you if you want to learn about:- Type of language racists use -- eg calling immigrants "aliens"- Racist dog-whistles -- like neo-nazis will say "88" because 'H' is the 8th letter of the alphabet， so "88" means "Heil Hitler"- How history is repeating itself -- conspiracy theories about immigrants， eg "stealing jobs"- Subtler forms of racism eg unconscious bias- "Classy" racism （NOT intellectual） eg institutional racism- ITS JUST A JOKE， LIBTARD -- Steven Crowder-type racism- Dealing with "I-DON'T-SEE-RACE" type people -- I don't think they're ALWAYS racist， sometimes they're just people that live in fucking LA-LA-LAND- Denialists， eg denying institutional racism， or holocaust denial， think Ben Sha-P-WORDOverall:I bought this book without reading the description， just on a whim， thinking it would tackle issues like institutional racism， instead of the whole genetic argument。 I know most of the talking points on genetic racism， as well as the counter-arguments， so I couldn't really make the most of this book。 I DID learn from it -- hence the 5-star review， but I'm not the target audience。 This book is short， concise， which I appreciate since I don't want to re-read the same shit over and over again， which is why I completed it instead of DNFing it。 This is particularly useful if you like debating this topic。 This book is concise enough that you can easily just pinch out the main talking points and studies， put it in a document， ready for a cursory glance before a debate。 You'll come out of this book knowing all the talking points and counterarguments。The book is good for humanities people， who want to broaden their understanding， but less useful for STEM people who already have an understanding， and are looking for more 'humanity'-type books。 。。。more
Sarah
，
Unexpectedly good
Kirsten
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Not what I was expecting at all！ So much better。 This is not a book about how to craft a response to a racist comment but rather a scientific hammering of racism！ “If you are a racist， then you are asking for a fight。 But science is my ally， not yours， and your fight is not just with me， but with reality。" ― Adam Rutherford Not what I was expecting at all！ So much better。 This is not a book about how to craft a response to a racist comment but rather a scientific hammering of racism！ “If you are a racist， then you are asking for a fight。 But science is my ally， not yours， and your fight is not just with me， but with reality。" ― Adam Rutherford 。。。more
eighthsamurai
，
3。5Extremely important subject matter and I want to love it， but I found the arguments not very well presented and the writing style difficult to follow in many places。
Dan
，
I don’t think this book lived up to its title。 It was very interesting， very informative， and very well written。 However， I don’t think you could use any of this information to argue with a racist， as most of them， in my experience， are so completely convinced that they are right， it would be a waste of time。 The author used the expression many times， which I will paraphrase， Reasoning cannot change a man’s opinion when reason didn’t have anything to do with the opinion he holds。 A few of the au I don’t think this book lived up to its title。 It was very interesting， very informative， and very well written。 However， I don’t think you could use any of this information to argue with a racist， as most of them， in my experience， are so completely convinced that they are right， it would be a waste of time。 The author used the expression many times， which I will paraphrase， Reasoning cannot change a man’s opinion when reason didn’t have anything to do with the opinion he holds。 A few of the authors own prejudices came through in his writing， although he did make a huge effort to be clear and scientific。 Overall， I enjoyed this book and would recommend it。 。。。more
Peter Akinosho
，
The GoodSeriously amazing。 One of the most comprehensive reviews of racial beliefs not just for the us， but for the world （ the author is British after all）。 Rutherford analyzes a variety of beliefs for the theory on racial intelligence to success in sports and the issues of genetic inheritance。 The book is intelligent， concise， and contain few if any bias。 100% would recommend this book is worth your time and money。 The BadThe title is a tad "Click-baity" and doesn't clearly address that the bo The GoodSeriously amazing。 One of the most comprehensive reviews of racial beliefs not just for the us， but for the world （ the author is British after all）。 Rutherford analyzes a variety of beliefs for the theory on racial intelligence to success in sports and the issues of genetic inheritance。 The book is intelligent， concise， and contain few if any bias。 100% would recommend this book is worth your time and money。 The BadThe title is a tad "Click-baity" and doesn't clearly address that the book is on the scientific basis for race -what is true， what is false， and what genetics tells us。 But hey。。。it got me to read it。 RecommendationWould highly recommend listening to this as an audiobook。 Adam Rutherford narrates it himself and he has very palatable， clear British accent。 。。。more
Dave Gerrard
，
Correct， but somewhat unsatisfying。
Melissa
，
If I could give half stars this would be a 3。5 read for me。 The book is extremely informative and clear in the information it covers。 As someone who has a rudimentary understanding of genetics， I was able to understand all of the examples and concepts explored in the book。 What the book does， it does very well。 Why I can only give this book 3。5 stars comes down to two separate points: 1。 It doesn't really tell you how to argue with a racist。 It explores scientific facts that counter the most com If I could give half stars this would be a 3。5 read for me。 The book is extremely informative and clear in the information it covers。 As someone who has a rudimentary understanding of genetics， I was able to understand all of the examples and concepts explored in the book。 What the book does， it does very well。 Why I can only give this book 3。5 stars comes down to two separate points: 1。 It doesn't really tell you how to argue with a racist。 It explores scientific facts that counter the most common arguments of racists， white supremacists， and/or race purists from a genetics perspective， however， it does not make this information actionable。 The catchy title of the book is ultimately a misnomer and set expectations for a guide that breaks down racist rhetoric and how to engage in arguments against it。 It does not even attempt this。 2。 The book is extremely pricey for the limited content。 This book is short and small。 Had I deliberated purchasing this book in person rather than online， I probably would not have spent the full price on the book。 I'm not trying to lessen the value of the author's contribution and research， but for a book that fails to answer the very question it poses in its title while still having room for about 100 more pages without defying expectations， I can't say its worth the money。 At least not full price。 。。。more
Cath
，
I have given up on this because it’s a hard read。 A very in depth and informed story of genetics and ancestry that was just too detailed for me。 I’m not a scientist and the long descriptions of genome sequencing were too complicated to really interest me。 I don’t like to give up on books but this one is not for me。
[Deleted]
，
Another oversocialized postgraduate globalist handbook， with even more flimsy arguments than usual。 First of all， the premise of this book needs to be clarified。 When Rutherford refers to "arguing with racists"， what he really means is "arguing with white Europeans"。 That should be the title of this book; because when implemented in practicality， "racism" towards white Europeans is called "reverse-racism" or simply not acknowledged as racism at all。 This vividly demonstrates that the fundamental Another oversocialized postgraduate globalist handbook， with even more flimsy arguments than usual。 First of all， the premise of this book needs to be clarified。 When Rutherford refers to "arguing with racists"， what he really means is "arguing with white Europeans"。 That should be the title of this book; because when implemented in practicality， "racism" towards white Europeans is called "reverse-racism" or simply not acknowledged as racism at all。 This vividly demonstrates that the fundamental definition of this holiest of words can only be accurately applied when wielded by nonwhites， more often than not nonwhites that happen to be living comfortably in white countries。 Moreover， this word and other likewise platitudes are terms that are nowadays used to broadly tarnish anyone that points out the inconsistencies with the mainstream narrative on anything that isn't superficial。 This may include gender， race， sexuality， the origin of "marginalized" communities and "privileged" communities， or anything that happens to be at odds with the mainstream egalitarian notion of equality itself。Now to the book itself， not once does he touch on the heritability of IQ （which is definitive）， nor does he talk about the genetic factors responsible for impulse control。 Rutherford clearly acknowledges that Africans are better sprinters， better long jumpers and better suited for physical activity in general （hence they dominate the NBA at over 75%， and hold all of the Olympic records）。 Is that racist？ I wouldn't have thought so， it's genetics。 Africans have higher twitch muscle fibers which makes them more suited for high intensity physical activity。 Similarly Europeans have lower density bones which makes them better swimmers， and again， these differences are expressed clearly among the racial groups， as well as across genders。 So I ask you now， how deep in denial does one have to be to believe that evolution simply stops at the neck？ How delusional does one have to be to believe that race is simply skin deep？ Unless you want to read a book that has two-dimensional， establishment approved views on basically everything， such as， "we really don't know what X， Y and Z is"， "mainstream science tells us this"， "everything that is not this specific kind of science is psuedoscience" then I wouldn't bother reading this - you can read arguments of about the same level of quality on reddit。 If you want something that actually has credibility， and isn't just egalitarian hogwash， then you would be best studying those who put their necks on the line and actually have something to lose in their field。 Start with men such as Philippe J。 Rushton， Roger Pearson， Carleton Putnam， Richard Lynn and Charles Murray。For those of you unaware of James Watson， （who is labelled as a "racist" in this book with no further explanation）， he is a 93 year old molecular biologist who was completely ostracized for scratching the surface of truth of the genetic differences in intelligence。 This is a guy who has spent his whole life in the laboratory， discovered the double helix structure of the DNA molecule， was head of the Human Genome Project until 1992， and had unparalleled credibility during his career as a biologist and geneticist。 He said in passing on live television that human intelligence was genetic。 After which， he was pretty much made redundant by the establishment， forced into selling his Nobel Prize because he was running out of money， and was encouraged （harassed） to completely retract his statements （he never did）。 James Watson proved that the mainstream consensus on race is almost entirely astroturfed and has no scientific credibility whatsoever; because scientists themselves have no logical means to provide a truthful output to their work。 So as for the appeal to authority arguments in this book， you can go and screw yourself。 Read some statistics and blame the magic dirt。Race is a better predictor of crime than poverty。Source:http://2kpcwh2r7phz1nq4jj237m22。wpeng。。。Human intelligence is 86% heritable。Source:https://www。ncbi。nlm。nih。gov/pmc/arti。。。The scientific consensus is that IQ tests are not racially biased。Source:http://www。sciencedirect。com/science/。。。Privately， intelligence experts hold more hereditarian views than they express in public。Source:http://www。udel。edu/educ/gottfredson/。。。The average African IQ is estimated at 75。Source:http://www。sciencedirect。com/science/。。。The average African-American IQ is 85， compared to the average White IQ of 100。 African-Americans are 20% white on average。Source:http://www1。udel。edu/educ/gottfredson。。。Black children raised in White households have extremely similar IQ scores to Black children in Black households。Source:http://psycnet。apa。org/psycinfo/1977-。。。The White-Black gap in SAT scores， a proxy for IQ， is increasing。Source:http://www。jbhe。com/features/49_colle。。。At each poverty concentration level， the violent crime rate is substantially higher in black than in white census tracts。Sourcehttp://archive。is/iRPsZ#selection-127。。。Very poor Whites are about as intelligent as very wealthy Blacks。Source:http://www。jbhe。com/features/49_colle。。。 。。。more
Aaron M。 Packnick
，
The title isn't necessarily misleading， but there's little information provided which will be beneficial when arguing with an actual racist。 All the book talks about， at great detail and in an easy to understand easy， is how certain racial stereotypes aren't genetically true， but may be true out of cultural or societal reasons， which are all things a racist can't tell the difference between。 The title isn't necessarily misleading， but there's little information provided which will be beneficial when arguing with an actual racist。 All the book talks about， at great detail and in an easy to understand easy， is how certain racial stereotypes aren't genetically true， but may be true out of cultural or societal reasons， which are all things a racist can't tell the difference between。 。。。more
Brendan
，
As others have said this book could be more accurately titled How to Argue with a Racist Whose Arguments are Based on Science。 That said， it’s very interesting and gives the reader some good ammunition with arguing with people who say X race is better at Y because of Z。 I would recommend this to anyone。
Stephanie
，
The title of the book is not great， as the author himself points out。 You can't actually use facts to change an opinion not based in fact。 However， it's a fascinating book about the science of genetics and how our prejudices are completely based on lies。 The title of the book is not great， as the author himself points out。 You can't actually use facts to change an opinion not based in fact。 However， it's a fascinating book about the science of genetics and how our prejudices are completely based on lies。 。。。more
Simon Sjøberg
，
Clear and well argued。 Presents the science of what we know our genes say about things like intelligence， and a consice history of racial stereotypes and how pseudoscience has rationalized it， and how our new understanding of genetics undermine these theories。 Great read and some interesting facts！
Wendy
，
I loved this book and the author often made me chuckle with some of his colourful and clever phrasing。 My only problem was that although I enjoyed it， I think a lot of it was over my head because I can’t actually use anything I read to argue with a racist。 I felt like I was following everything ok。。。but it didn’t quite stick。 Lol
GSV
，
Reading some other reviews it seems like some people have the wrong impression of what this book is。 It is not a memoir， essay or guide。 It is a popular science book that dismantles often repeated racist beliefs and demystifies some commonly held misconceptions （of racists and well-meaning liberals alike） by explaining how genetics actually work according to current scientific understanding。 Rutherford is both a geneticist and a presenter of popular scientific programmes on the BBC， and as such Reading some other reviews it seems like some people have the wrong impression of what this book is。 It is not a memoir， essay or guide。 It is a popular science book that dismantles often repeated racist beliefs and demystifies some commonly held misconceptions （of racists and well-meaning liberals alike） by explaining how genetics actually work according to current scientific understanding。 Rutherford is both a geneticist and a presenter of popular scientific programmes on the BBC， and as such has that voice that is both entertaining and relentlessly educational。 。。。more
Kristian
，
Well written and easy to take in， but it's less 'how to。。。' and more 'why the science of genetics doesn't support racist beliefs'As a scientifically minded person who tries to keep up with anti-racist content as much as possible， there isn't anything particularly revelatory here。 Though there are a few interesting points and anecdotes， I don't feel all that much better equipped to argue with a racist than I did before reading。 That said， this will be the book I recommend to people who try to ass Well written and easy to take in， but it's less 'how to。。。' and more 'why the science of genetics doesn't support racist beliefs'As a scientifically minded person who tries to keep up with anti-racist content as much as possible， there isn't anything particularly revelatory here。 Though there are a few interesting points and anecdotes， I don't feel all that much better equipped to argue with a racist than I did before reading。 That said， this will be the book I recommend to people who try to assert that the science supports any kind of racist theory。 。。。more
Inês
，
3，75 estrelas*
Robert Bob
，
Genetic ， DNA， HISTORICAL Trends in racial & ethnic views 。 Epicepitcally written。 。 。a bit rambling but many fine points made。 Missing an edge to draw & keep focus。 OK
Charley Lewis
，