Democracy: Still the worst kind of government except all the other kinds
Now in practice, says Steven Pinker, “no one has ever developed a democracy that works particularly well if judged in absolute...
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Against chaos: The world is a hard place, but maybe humans aren’t to blame
When we see problems in the world, we’re quick to blame someone–anyone–who should be providing peace, love, and harmony:...
Read MoreDoes everyone have the same values? Yes, but libertarianism isn’t one of them.
Is conflict humanity’s natural state? Could we ever agree on a set of values? The knee-jerk response for any student of history...
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AI won’t takeover the world, and what our fears of the Robopocalypse reveal
Robots taking over has been a favorite sci-fi subgenre for ages. It’s a subject that has caused fear in movies, books, and real life...
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Is World History Becoming More Peaceful or More Violent?
If you want to understand trends in the history of global violence, look to data, not headlines, says Harvard psychology professor and...
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Steven Pinker: How Soon Will Genetic Enhancement Create Smarter Humans?
This video is part of a series on genius, in proud collaboration with 92Y’s 7 Days of Genius Festival. In the late 1990s, scientists...
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How we speak reveals what we think, with Steven Pinker
How is it that human beings have come to acquire language? Steven Pinker’s introduction to the field includes thoughts on the...
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How Children Learn Language
In this selection from his Floating University lecture, Professor Steven Pinker deduces the nature of language acquisition by examining...
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Language Is a Window into the Mind
Psychologist Steven Pinker studies the interface between language and human computation, which he argues is the key to understanding human...
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