Steven Pinker is a world-renowned cognitive psychologist, and is widely regarded as one of the most important public intellectuals of our time. His work delves into the complexities of cognition, language, and social behavior, and his research offers a window into the fundamental workings of the human mind.
This became so silly I had to turn it off halfway through. They jumped from example to example, spouted accepted beliefs, and never dug beneath the surface of anything. All I learned was their biases and blind spots.
Our intractable infirmities persist because we try to address them with political and philosophical "remedies" that do not yet touch the physiological root of the human condition. The situation reminds me of children running around a playground with loaded guns. We are, all of us, grown-up children ignorant of why they do what they do, or of the lethal menace they hold in their hands.
The big example of conspiratorial beliefs and communications given in the podcast was Alex Jones. Arguably, a marginal player. What about the conspiracy theory of Trump and Russia? Hunter's laptop and Russia?
At the end, Mr Pinker says that we must rely on rationality and data. But rationality cannot formulate moral goals, it can only assess outcomes of different actions, and frequently cannot even do that. And data is meaningless unless it is fit into a conceptual structure.
I found not a hint of Burke in Mr Pinker. He celebrates (as do I) the progress toward enlightenment that has been made, but this progress was made at a time when the prevailing belief systems had a distinct religious character. The French Revolution, the Russian coup of October, and the Khmer Rouge gov't and others of that ilk were explicitly rational movements.
They both agreed that the truth is an easy to find thing ? WTH , this was just BS. I grew up near Chicago and any one in Chicago knew every election had a element of fraud sometimes they found lots of it sometimes they didn't bother to look for it . We all knew it was there and active in every election , because it always has been . To say the election didn't have fraud because someone on high said it didn't is just plan crap . Grow up people !
And then they switched to AI , which they said basically nothing maybe less jobs , maybe it won't be as bad , and you have to be positive then AI will be great ? What a waste of time this was .
30+ years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting the doctor who was in the room when Kennedy's body arrived at the Dallas Parkland Hospital. He stood over the body and measured the hole on the back of Kennedy's skull which he described as the size of a baseball. Having a history of treating gunshots, he was sufficiently familiar with ballistics to know "this was the exit wound". Steve Pinker is a smart man, but he's not a witness.
Oh, Canada. This was all great until you two looked into your crystal ball and forecasted that it "will be Trump and his supporters that will take down democracy." Really? I would say half the country thinks it's the other way around. Moynahan, wtf. That was such an unsophisticated ending to a great interview.
C. The Committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that President John F. Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. The Committee is unable to identify the other gunman or the extent of the conspiracy.
Perhaps not all conspiracies are baseless. And in the intervening years a lot more information has come to light that debunks the Warren Commission’s conclusion that Oswald acted alone.
Stephen Pinker is a brilliant thinker, but he has some signficant blind spots. Reason is great for solving problems, but we aren't robots. How do you measure the loss of a loved one or an anniversary dinner with your wife? He seems to think everything can be reduced to grids and charts. He is one of these atheists that has actively lead so many astray, leaving open the door for Wokism and Islamism.
Having read "Enlightenment Now", I am a fan of Pinker's work. He comes across as very balanced and sane, and his measured, logical approach skewers both the Trumpist right and the illiberal left (as in pro-Hamas, DEI ideologues). This podcast just confirms my admiration.
After listening to this podcast I am starting to believe that Honestly is NPR Lite.
This amount of gaslighting is frustrating to say the least!
When discussing conspiracy theories Pinker said of the Public Health Establishment:
"Some of the "so called" misinformation was a little bit closer to the truth than the advisories from the public health establishment stated, but now this doesn't mean the public health establishment was corrupt or conspiratorial. We all start out in a state of ignorance."
This after the Kansas Attorney General yesterday announced his lawsuit against Pfizer for misleading the public about the harms of the experimental gene therapy. This after it was announced that the vaccine wasn't a vaccine but gene therapy. This after Fauci admitted he made up the mask rule, the 6 feet distancing and a host of other RULES he inflicted on the population.
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MINDS?? All the conspiracy theories have been proven TRUE.
And how DARE you talk about "what smart people believe". It's all you morons that fell for the scam and took the gene therapy or lied to the public about doing so. Which is it smarty pants?
HOW COME YOU WEREN'T SMART ENOUGH TO SEE IT WAS A SCAM?
And laughing at people who believe JFK was killed by Oswald? I think it takes a special kind of smarts to believe the "official story". That some random loon was able to shoot a sitting president and as the nation is mourning the loss of their favorite president another random loon shoots the bad guy and it's capture on TV for all the broken hearted idiot box watchers to see and feel a sense of national collective revenge. Wow, how convenient that it was all taken care of and wrapped up in a nice neat bow.
I have so much more to say, but I am guessing I won't be the only person commenting about this podcast which belongs in a pile of poop for it's gaslighting. Some of the smartest people are the dumbest morons. We have proof after the past 4 years.
Yeah, No. If we are talking about "What Smart People Believe".... a lot of very smart people believed the government and the pharma companies and now regret it. So NO, we shouldn't move on while millions suffer from injuries and the loss of their loved ones. I am not arguing with anyone IF this is TRUE. It's clearly TRUE, inconveniently TRUE and we will have to reckon with it.
I guess you didn't see the latest from:
BREAKING: Kansas Attorney General sues Pfizer for "misleading Kansans on COVID vaccine."
The announcement alleges Pfizer mislead Kansans on vaccine risks, such as with pregnant women and myocarditis, and that Pfizer claimed the vaccines protected against COVID variants when data showed differently. And additionally that Pfizer claimed their vaccines prevented COVID transmission, but the company later admitted they never did the proper studies to back up that claim, the statement says.
The release also alleges that "Pfizer coordinated with social media officials to censor speech critical of COVID-19 vaccines and declined to participate in the federal government’s vaccine development program, Operation Warp Speed, to avoid government oversight."
Kansas AG Kris Kobach said in the announcement, “Pfizer made multiple misleading statements to deceive the public about its vaccine at a time when Americans needed the truth."
I do not know how “Smart People” can look at what is happening with this president and be concerned that Pres. Trump would be a dictator or destroy democracy! Biden has defied the Supreme Court, told half the country he hates them, opened our borders to terrorists or who knows who, put his political opponents in jail, and lost face in Afghanistan. This administration is a dictatorship and it must be ended.
Interesting they dissected so many conspiracy theories, but just cannot unlatch from demonizing Trump as a facist. I find it interesting that the Biden administration is pivoting toward Trump's immigration position as just one area where Trump was getting it right. For all the reasons Janet states. I am far more fearful of a Biden/hard left administration going forward. National Pride, putting the interests of our country and our citizens first, used to have positive connotations. And I think most people are very sick of cancel culture so hopefully the pendulum can swing a little toward sanity soon!
Where in this interview did Trump get called a fascist. Pinker explicitly said we have no way of predicting what Trump will actually do. What we do have, which he didn’t mention, is a history. We can all take from that history that we’ve watched with our own eyes and ears, what we decide to take from it. This kind of “reading between the lines and trying to find sides and sniff out energies is what’s destroying our country. Trump and Biden are just two mortals.
I think what they mean by "Smart People" is people who know that it's "Smart" to play along with the "narrative" or "official story" or they will find themselves "cancelled."
Nothing we are seeing today from our leaders/Elite Class is "Smart". It's all corruption and lies and gaslighting and pure evil.
Great interview, and a terrific counterpoint to Niall Ferguson's piece.
I would love to see TFP interview the philosopher John Gray, who offers a very thoughtful critique of Pinker's Better Angels argument in favor of progress.
He’s rational only to the point where reason might conflict with his own liberal belief structure. He makes bizarre statements such as “npr has a reputation for unbiased reporting” then proceeds to adjust his analysis to the unchallenged “fact”.
Great episode!! I like this Pinker guy. As a mental health counselor I usually just get irritated when the free press attempts to discuss psychology. You guys usually get a C when talking about psychology but this was amazing.
Also, Pinker explained how stock market bubbles happen without addressing it directly.
This became so silly I had to turn it off halfway through. They jumped from example to example, spouted accepted beliefs, and never dug beneath the surface of anything. All I learned was their biases and blind spots.
Our intractable infirmities persist because we try to address them with political and philosophical "remedies" that do not yet touch the physiological root of the human condition. The situation reminds me of children running around a playground with loaded guns. We are, all of us, grown-up children ignorant of why they do what they do, or of the lethal menace they hold in their hands.
The big example of conspiratorial beliefs and communications given in the podcast was Alex Jones. Arguably, a marginal player. What about the conspiracy theory of Trump and Russia? Hunter's laptop and Russia?
At the end, Mr Pinker says that we must rely on rationality and data. But rationality cannot formulate moral goals, it can only assess outcomes of different actions, and frequently cannot even do that. And data is meaningless unless it is fit into a conceptual structure.
I found not a hint of Burke in Mr Pinker. He celebrates (as do I) the progress toward enlightenment that has been made, but this progress was made at a time when the prevailing belief systems had a distinct religious character. The French Revolution, the Russian coup of October, and the Khmer Rouge gov't and others of that ilk were explicitly rational movements.
They both agreed that the truth is an easy to find thing ? WTH , this was just BS. I grew up near Chicago and any one in Chicago knew every election had a element of fraud sometimes they found lots of it sometimes they didn't bother to look for it . We all knew it was there and active in every election , because it always has been . To say the election didn't have fraud because someone on high said it didn't is just plan crap . Grow up people !
And then they switched to AI , which they said basically nothing maybe less jobs , maybe it won't be as bad , and you have to be positive then AI will be great ? What a waste of time this was .
30+ years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting the doctor who was in the room when Kennedy's body arrived at the Dallas Parkland Hospital. He stood over the body and measured the hole on the back of Kennedy's skull which he described as the size of a baseball. Having a history of treating gunshots, he was sufficiently familiar with ballistics to know "this was the exit wound". Steve Pinker is a smart man, but he's not a witness.
Oh, Canada. This was all great until you two looked into your crystal ball and forecasted that it "will be Trump and his supporters that will take down democracy." Really? I would say half the country thinks it's the other way around. Moynahan, wtf. That was such an unsophisticated ending to a great interview.
Oswald/JFK
Would like to point out that even the:
THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NINETY-FIFTH CONGRESS
Came to this finding in 1979:
C. The Committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that President John F. Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. The Committee is unable to identify the other gunman or the extent of the conspiracy.
Perhaps not all conspiracies are baseless. And in the intervening years a lot more information has come to light that debunks the Warren Commission’s conclusion that Oswald acted alone.
Just a thought, Steven
Great interview! Pinker was excellent, as was Moynihan. Thanks, TFP!
Stephen Pinker is a brilliant thinker, but he has some signficant blind spots. Reason is great for solving problems, but we aren't robots. How do you measure the loss of a loved one or an anniversary dinner with your wife? He seems to think everything can be reduced to grids and charts. He is one of these atheists that has actively lead so many astray, leaving open the door for Wokism and Islamism.
Smart and wise have nothing in common. Conventional wisdom tells me the more education (book smart) one has, the more foolish ideas they will embrace.
Having read "Enlightenment Now", I am a fan of Pinker's work. He comes across as very balanced and sane, and his measured, logical approach skewers both the Trumpist right and the illiberal left (as in pro-Hamas, DEI ideologues). This podcast just confirms my admiration.
After listening to this podcast I am starting to believe that Honestly is NPR Lite.
This amount of gaslighting is frustrating to say the least!
When discussing conspiracy theories Pinker said of the Public Health Establishment:
"Some of the "so called" misinformation was a little bit closer to the truth than the advisories from the public health establishment stated, but now this doesn't mean the public health establishment was corrupt or conspiratorial. We all start out in a state of ignorance."
This after the Kansas Attorney General yesterday announced his lawsuit against Pfizer for misleading the public about the harms of the experimental gene therapy. This after it was announced that the vaccine wasn't a vaccine but gene therapy. This after Fauci admitted he made up the mask rule, the 6 feet distancing and a host of other RULES he inflicted on the population.
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MINDS?? All the conspiracy theories have been proven TRUE.
And how DARE you talk about "what smart people believe". It's all you morons that fell for the scam and took the gene therapy or lied to the public about doing so. Which is it smarty pants?
HOW COME YOU WEREN'T SMART ENOUGH TO SEE IT WAS A SCAM?
And laughing at people who believe JFK was killed by Oswald? I think it takes a special kind of smarts to believe the "official story". That some random loon was able to shoot a sitting president and as the nation is mourning the loss of their favorite president another random loon shoots the bad guy and it's capture on TV for all the broken hearted idiot box watchers to see and feel a sense of national collective revenge. Wow, how convenient that it was all taken care of and wrapped up in a nice neat bow.
I have so much more to say, but I am guessing I won't be the only person commenting about this podcast which belongs in a pile of poop for it's gaslighting. Some of the smartest people are the dumbest morons. We have proof after the past 4 years.
STOP GASLIGHTING PEOPLE WITH THIS NPR LITE BS!
Hey, it's now been 3.5 years since the COVID vaccine was rolled out. It has been provided to billions of people. We should maybe move on from this.
Well here comes the bird flu. There may be a few lessons to learn from the whole COVID experience.
Yeah, No. If we are talking about "What Smart People Believe".... a lot of very smart people believed the government and the pharma companies and now regret it. So NO, we shouldn't move on while millions suffer from injuries and the loss of their loved ones. I am not arguing with anyone IF this is TRUE. It's clearly TRUE, inconveniently TRUE and we will have to reckon with it.
I guess you didn't see the latest from:
BREAKING: Kansas Attorney General sues Pfizer for "misleading Kansans on COVID vaccine."
The announcement alleges Pfizer mislead Kansans on vaccine risks, such as with pregnant women and myocarditis, and that Pfizer claimed the vaccines protected against COVID variants when data showed differently. And additionally that Pfizer claimed their vaccines prevented COVID transmission, but the company later admitted they never did the proper studies to back up that claim, the statement says.
The release also alleges that "Pfizer coordinated with social media officials to censor speech critical of COVID-19 vaccines and declined to participate in the federal government’s vaccine development program, Operation Warp Speed, to avoid government oversight."
Kansas AG Kris Kobach said in the announcement, “Pfizer made multiple misleading statements to deceive the public about its vaccine at a time when Americans needed the truth."
https://x.com/JasonBlairNTD/status/1802765077637935284
"we shouldn't move on while millions suffer from injuries and the loss of their loved ones"
This is quite the claim. I haven't heard anything about this.
Born yesterday or a troll?
It's not my problem you ill informed.
I do not know how “Smart People” can look at what is happening with this president and be concerned that Pres. Trump would be a dictator or destroy democracy! Biden has defied the Supreme Court, told half the country he hates them, opened our borders to terrorists or who knows who, put his political opponents in jail, and lost face in Afghanistan. This administration is a dictatorship and it must be ended.
Interesting they dissected so many conspiracy theories, but just cannot unlatch from demonizing Trump as a facist. I find it interesting that the Biden administration is pivoting toward Trump's immigration position as just one area where Trump was getting it right. For all the reasons Janet states. I am far more fearful of a Biden/hard left administration going forward. National Pride, putting the interests of our country and our citizens first, used to have positive connotations. And I think most people are very sick of cancel culture so hopefully the pendulum can swing a little toward sanity soon!
Where in this interview did Trump get called a fascist. Pinker explicitly said we have no way of predicting what Trump will actually do. What we do have, which he didn’t mention, is a history. We can all take from that history that we’ve watched with our own eyes and ears, what we decide to take from it. This kind of “reading between the lines and trying to find sides and sniff out energies is what’s destroying our country. Trump and Biden are just two mortals.
Re-listen to 40:45-42:00 and conclude what you may.
I think what they mean by "Smart People" is people who know that it's "Smart" to play along with the "narrative" or "official story" or they will find themselves "cancelled."
Nothing we are seeing today from our leaders/Elite Class is "Smart". It's all corruption and lies and gaslighting and pure evil.
Great interview, and a terrific counterpoint to Niall Ferguson's piece.
I would love to see TFP interview the philosopher John Gray, who offers a very thoughtful critique of Pinker's Better Angels argument in favor of progress.
And more Moynihan, please.
He’s rational only to the point where reason might conflict with his own liberal belief structure. He makes bizarre statements such as “npr has a reputation for unbiased reporting” then proceeds to adjust his analysis to the unchallenged “fact”.
Great episode!! I like this Pinker guy. As a mental health counselor I usually just get irritated when the free press attempts to discuss psychology. You guys usually get a C when talking about psychology but this was amazing.
Also, Pinker explained how stock market bubbles happen without addressing it directly.