Knowledge is a continuous fabric, in which ideas are connected to other ideas. Reason-free zones, in which people can assert arbitrary beliefs safe from ordinary standards of evaluation, can only corrupt this fabric, just as a contradiction can corrupt a system of logic, allowing falsehoods to proliferate through it.
Steven PinkerI suspect music is auditory cheesecake, an exquisite confection crafted to tickle the sensitive spots of... our mental faculties.
Steven PinkerI like ice hockey. No one is ever going to ask me to write about that as a metaphor for life.
Steven PinkerLanguage surely does affect our thoughts, rather than just labeling them for the sake of labeling them. Most obviously, language is the conduit through which people share their thoughts and intentions and thereby acquire the knowledge, customs, and values of those around them."
Steven PinkerThe more you think about and interact with other people, the more you realize that it is untenable to privilege your interests over theirs.
Steven Pinker