Why are empirical questions about how the mind works so weighted down with political and moral and emotional baggage?
Steven PinkerAll our behaviours are a result of neurophysiological activity in the brain. There is no reason to believe there is any magic going on.
Steven PinkerConventions are unstated agreements within a community to abide by a single way of doing things - not because there is any inherent advantage to the choice, but because there is an advantage to everyone making the same choice.
Steven PinkerPhotography is a demanding action sport. The light can change so quickly. I often find myself sprinting so that I can catch the perfect light falling on a photogenic subject.
Steven PinkerI think the reason that swearing is both so offensive and so attractive is that it is a way to push people's emotional buttons, and especially their negative emotional buttons. Because words soak up emotional connotations and are processed involuntarily by the listener, you can't will yourself not to treat the word in terms of what it means.
Steven Pinker