Steven Pinker Quotes

"When it comes to correct English, there's no one in charge; the lunatics are running the asylum."

on Humor

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to compute it."

on Wisdom

"It Begins with skepticism. The history of human folly, and our own susceptibility to illusions and fallacies, tell us that men and women are fallible."

on Critical Thinking

"We should expose whatever ends are harmful and whatever ideas are false, and not confuse the two."

on Wisdom

"A design can excel at one challenge only by compromising at others."

on Philosophy

"Part of the bargain of being alive is that one takes a chance at dying a premature or painful death, be it from violence, accident, or disease."

on Life

"The typical imperative from biology is not "Thou shalt... ," but "If ... then ... else."

on Biology

"We will never have a perfect world, but it’s not romantic or naïve to work toward a better one."

on Hope

"The rules of friendship are tacit, unconscious; they are not rational. In business, though, you have to think rationally."

on Relationships

"The mind is not designed to grasp the laws of probability, even though the laws rule the universe."

on Psychology

"A...reason we are so-so scientists is that our brains were shaped for fitness, not for truth. Sometimes truth is adaptive, but sometimes it is not."

on Psychology