I liked his Language Instinct except for the hard-wired stuff. Then I found out years later, that the hard-wired stuff is SUPER REALLY IMPORTANT to him. Then I found out he was anti-connectionism. Then I found another of his books in the early 00s just… ‘off’ the whole way through. So by 2007 I was kinda done with Pinker. Then he pops up years later as some “if Bill Maher was a Linguist”, “Oh Jeffrey Epstein was framed” type and I was like, “meh, whatever”. I know a few die-hard fans of his, likely those who read his PROGRESS-IS-GREAT-DIDN’T-YOU-READ-YOUR-4TH-GRADE-US-HISTORY-BOOK? or see him as the Bill Maher of Academia – or the Jordan Peterson Lite but for me it’s his anti-connectionism. Not that connectionism is the everything but it sure ain’t a binary on/off world and never was.

I liked his Language Instinct except for the hard-wired stuff.
Then I found out years later, that the hard-wired stuff is SUPER REALLY IMPORTANT to him.
Then I found out he was anti-connectionism.
Then I found another of his books in the early 00s just… ‘off’ the whole way through.

So by 2007 I was kinda done with Pinker.

Then he pops up years later as some “if Bill Maher was a Linguist”, “Oh Jeffrey Epstein was framed” type and I was like, “meh, whatever”.

I know a few die-hard fans of his, likely those who read his PROGRESS-IS-GREAT-DIDN’T-YOU-READ-YOUR-4TH-GRADE-US-HISTORY-BOOK? or see him as the Bill Maher of Academia – or the Jordan Peterson Lite but for me it’s his anti-connectionism. Not that connectionism is the everything but it sure ain’t a binary on/off world and never was.

[responsivevoice_button voice="US English Male"]