The necessary starting point for the scientific endeavor is the axiom—an assertion that, for sake of argument, is simply accepted as true. Parallel lines, for example, are defined by an axiom (Hilbert’s parallel axiom, to be precise). Set the axioms correctly, and all of geometry—indeed all of mathematics and arguably all of science—follows logically. Get the axioms wrong, and even airtight logic will lead you into a world of error.
What, then to make of this paper, “Observing whiteness in introductory physics: A case study,” published recently in Physical Review Physics Education Research (PRPER), a journal of the American Physical Society (APS)? The authors, Amy D. Robertson and W. Tali Hairston, state their axioms clearly and up front: that “racism and white supremacy are endemic to all aspects of U.S. society.” This includes the teaching of physics, which makes physics education no different from other supposed markers of white supremacy, including “differential incarceration rates, rates of infection and death in the era of COVID, and police brutality.” And physicists are oblivious to the violence they wreak by teaching their subject in a way that “maintains whiteness.” Whiteness in physics teaching must be “made visible,” which Robertson and Hairston intend their paper to do.
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