Steven Pinker "The Sense of Style"

www.politics-prose.com/event/b...
All writers know you can’t have too many books on the craft, whether for practical details of usage and vocabulary, for inspiration in mid-sentence, or for sheer companionship in a lonely endeavor. Pinker, the distinguished cognitive scientist and author of many works on the mind and language, is also chair of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary, and his new book covers rules, clichés, coherence, revision, and more. (Viking)
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[@tipple58]

That was so enlightening and entertaining. So much so that I've (literally) - just moments ago - ordered the book from Amazon.

[@jamesjacocks6221]

Pinker has a fascinating tie. I do remember that enrollees of our colleges and universities exhibited a steep decline in academics in the 1960s. It was palpable and everywhere evident. The viewpoint of some profs was that, after the ramping up of the Vietnam War and the draft, to fail a student was to consign him to the jungle. Somehow I feel that this was a fundamental change of direction in the purpose of education, that it was a tectonic shift, if you will. Consider this and let me know what you feel. (I was there.)

[@lizgichora6472]

Thank you for emphasizing on Clarity of interpretation on context; importance of Grammer, Semantics, order of words in language and Poetry. Great lecture Steven Pinker.

[@ulyssesalvarezlaviada1502]

BADASS ATTITUDE OF QUOTES IN ACTION. "It is better to be clear and possibly wrong than fuzzy and not even wrong." - Steven Pinker. "It is better to be fuzzy and possibly right than simplistic and definitely wrong." - Ulysses Alvarez Laviada. The first quote assumes that clarity doesn't have shortcomings in itself. For instance, the habits of clarity develops a tendency for us to be simplistic rather than simple when the context requires it. The habits of clarity also develops the tendency for us to dismiss fuzziness when the context might require it. The second quote assumes that fuzziness doesn't have shortcomings in itself. For instance, the habits of fuzziness develops a tendency for us to be over complicated rather than complex when the context requires it. The habits of fuzziness also develops the tendency for us to dismiss clarity when the context might require it. Both quotes dismiss one ontological nature of reality, namely, anything that can show human excellence, in our case, simplicity and complexity, tend to show their natural shortcomings when either of them becomes a habit.

[@MooMooManist]

This was so much fun to watch!

[@ingenuity168]

I love Steven's hair!

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

Thanks

[@alexandersolbakkendewaard6661]

24:21 "Using a generator indoors can kill you in minutes"

[@JackT13]

I sometimes wonder how brilliant the scientific literary sphere might be if everyone within the sphere were as articulate as Pinker or Dawkins

[@isuckatsoldering6554]

"They drink Coke Classic!" Oh, Pinker.

[@faithluv1049]

He already gave this presentation at another lecture with a English speaker, and intellectual. Is this a ongoing thing or?

[@gda295]

ooh thnx yootoobe! [style]

[@sashasakura]

i would say its 13 inch.

[@irisbunky]

This speaker seems fairly intelligent.

[@utah133]

No shit. He's one of the smartest guys around on the stuff in which he specializes. He's also an excellent communicator. I enjoy his views on religion as well. (He's not into belief, but loves studying why people choose to believe.)

[@hugozogbi]

my brain

[@jiwonkim5315]

Iris Bunky hahaha this is such an understatement 😂

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

I’m here to answers your questions

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

Hi everyone

[@squamish4244]

Yes, there is much overlap, but fiction is still an entirely different matter. Often you DO want to use the ''curse of knowledge'', because you want to hide things from the reader until much later in the story. As a rule, fiction is much harder to write than nonfiction.

[@Kendojin]

"Fiction is the lie that tells the truth." -Neil Gaiman I love this quote, so I use it, cause I think it's a great moment :D I don't think "curse of knowledge" applies in this way to fiction... Non-fiction and Fiction both use author knowledge in the same way: NF and Fiction both gives information in a certain order for a certain purpose for a certain experience. They have different readers, so the two are wildly different for that reason... But there is still a lot of overlap, because the withholding and mystery is for a purpose. Just like an instruction manual withholds Step 5, and keeps it secret, before steps 1-4... It's really just a revealing of the correct left-to-right early-to-late order that Pinker mentioned in the beginning They are both for a specific effect on the reader, and the reader wants the author to do their job correctly

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

I’ve got scientific explanation for my actions,

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

Ask your questions by my language

[@danwroy]

What the hell is the "little birdie" joke (5:53)

[@BobSmith-fx9sz]

Think he built it up with examples from successive time periods of people harping on about past good grammar, but reveals the advice from the supposed 'golden grammar age' is simply a vague idiom - "don't end a sentence with: a little birdie [told me]."

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

My writing is philosophy language and only scientists will understand it

[@reason162]

judgmental flannel dude is judging.

[@catweasel28]

The quick brown dog jumped over the lazy fox.

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

Maybe I don’t understand your words

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

We’re not living in sixteen century,

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

You will benefit more from the human being likes me

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

سعی می‌کنم صدای خودم را به بیرون بفرستم

[@mehdibaghbadran3182]

جهان بصورت متحد اداره میشود ، و این امر از نظر من کاملا پذیرفته شده است ، ولی آزادی نباشد ، صدای شما شنیده نمی‌شود

[@plekkchand]

Very good, but proceeds sometimes using men of straw.

[@smujismuj]

Isn't it so much fun to ridicule the lesser educated among us.