Dear Editor,
I must admit that while reviewing several lists of black inventors, I became a little disturbed. I have always heard that the claim that there is no science in the black man is just a myth designed to make us look inferior. However, the lists that I saw made me wonder if that claim is really a myth.
Proponents of black science and achievement always point to the many black scientists as proof that we black people are as good as any other. These proponents, however, don't realise that what they are doing is confusing the achievements of black individuals (which must be commended) with that of the black race.
The scientific achievements of any race are really products of the culture of that race. Virtually all of the notable black scientists on the lists that I saw were educated in the West. Most of them actually lived most or all of their lives in the West. Indeed, the few black scientists that grew up and made their accomplishments in black Africa were actually educated in the West.
These black scientists, virtually all products of Western culture, are not black scientists in the truest sense of the term. They are what I call "white clones". I tried to find "black clones", that is, white scientists who were completely cultured in black Africa, but couldn't. The search for "pure" black scientists also turned up nothing.
What then does this say of the culture of black Africa, of which we are a part? Plenty! Clearly, ours is a culture that is, as revealed by those lists, science-phobic. It is argued that we blacks are at the bottom when global power dynamics are considered. Our science-phobic culture is a very big part of the root of that problem.
However, I don't think all is lost for us. The exposure of our race to science, which was greatly facilitated during the years of slavery and since, has begun to change our science-phobic culture for the better. Those lists of "black" scientists proovethat, on account of this exposure, a positive cultural change in respect to science is occurring. But this will take time.
Human evolution is a concept that is very misunderstood by most. No nation adapts to time and space in isolation. If we blacks do manage to develop a culture that facilitates the sciences, we will, in great part, have the influence of Western culture to give thanks to.
It makes no sense to boast about being the cradle of science if after thousands of years, while everybody else have grown out of it, we are still stuck in it. Hopefully, the day will come when the claim that there is no science in the black man will truly be a myth.
Michael A Dingwall.
michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com
Most black scientists are products of Western culture
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I must admit that while reviewing several lists of black inventors, I became a little disturbed. I have always heard that the claim that there is no science in the black man is just a myth designed to make us look inferior. However, the lists that I saw made me wonder if that claim is really a myth.
Proponents of black science and achievement always point to the many black scientists as proof that we black people are as good as any other. These proponents, however, don't realise that what they are doing is confusing the achievements of black individuals (which must be commended) with that of the black race.
The scientific achievements of any race are really products of the culture of that race. Virtually all of the notable black scientists on the lists that I saw were educated in the West. Most of them actually lived most or all of their lives in the West. Indeed, the few black scientists that grew up and made their accomplishments in black Africa were actually educated in the West.
These black scientists, virtually all products of Western culture, are not black scientists in the truest sense of the term. They are what I call "white clones". I tried to find "black clones", that is, white scientists who were completely cultured in black Africa, but couldn't. The search for "pure" black scientists also turned up nothing.
What then does this say of the culture of black Africa, of which we are a part? Plenty! Clearly, ours is a culture that is, as revealed by those lists, science-phobic. It is argued that we blacks are at the bottom when global power dynamics are considered. Our science-phobic culture is a very big part of the root of that problem.
However, I don't think all is lost for us. The exposure of our race to science, which was greatly facilitated during the years of slavery and since, has begun to change our science-phobic culture for the better. Those lists of "black" scientists proovethat, on account of this exposure, a positive cultural change in respect to science is occurring. But this will take time.
Human evolution is a concept that is very misunderstood by most. No nation adapts to time and space in isolation. If we blacks do manage to develop a culture that facilitates the sciences, we will, in great part, have the influence of Western culture to give thanks to.
It makes no sense to boast about being the cradle of science if after thousands of years, while everybody else have grown out of it, we are still stuck in it. Hopefully, the day will come when the claim that there is no science in the black man will truly be a myth.
Michael A Dingwall.
michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com
Most black scientists are products of Western culture
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