Steven Pinker

Why you should listen

Steven Pinker is a cognitive scientist who is interested in all aspects of language, the mind and human nature. As a professor of psychology at Harvard (previously Stanford and MIT), he conducts research in visual cognition, psycholinguistics and social relations. His prize-winning work includes the first comprehensive theory of language acquisition in children and documenting historical declines in violence as a lens on the human condition. His books include The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Better Angels of Our Nature and Enlightenment Now. His thirteenth book, to be published in September, is When Everyone Knows that Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life.