Steven Pinker asks audacious questions about the human mind -- then boldly sets out to answer them. Recently named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World, he is enormously popular in the media and highly respected in scientific circles. Known for his verve, wit and profound ideas - many explained by referencing pop culture - Pinker is a brilliant speaker who helps non-specialists understand the science behind human thought and action.
One of the world's leading cognitive scientists, Pinker translates his groundbreaking research into articles (he's written for The New York Times and Nature) and books that are accessible to the general reader. His books include the best-sellers The Blank Slate and How The Mind Works, both finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. His acclaimed "language" series includes The Language Instinct, Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language, and his most recent, The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature.
A native of Montreal, Pinker is Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard and has also taught at Stanford and, for 21 years, at MIT. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has won a number of teaching prizes, and was named among Newsweek magazine's "100 Americans for the Next Century." His research on visual cognition and the psychology of language has received numerous awards, including the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences.
With his light touch and deep intelligence - and with examples from everyday speech and pop culture - Pinker shows us how our words reflect our thoughts, our emotions, and the relationships we hold dear. He covers timely topics at the core of our understanding of human nature. Among the questions Pinker will address ... Why do people frame their abstract ideas in concrete metaphors - and is skillful use of metaphor the key to winning elections? Why do people swear, but get upset when other people swear? And why do we veil our threats and sexual come-ons in innuendo and euphemism, instead of blurting them out?
[Davidson Distinguished Lecture Series]
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