Skip to content
By using Twitter’s services you agree to our Cookies Use. We and our partners operate globally and use cookies, including for analytics, personalisation, and ads.
  • Home Home Home, current page.
  • About

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Language: English
    • Bahasa Indonesia
    • Bahasa Melayu
    • Català
    • Čeština
    • Dansk
    • Deutsch
    • English UK
    • Español
    • Filipino
    • Français
    • Hrvatski
    • Italiano
    • Magyar
    • Nederlands
    • Norsk
    • Polski
    • Português
    • Română
    • Slovenčina
    • Suomi
    • Svenska
    • Tiếng Việt
    • Türkçe
    • Ελληνικά
    • Български език
    • Русский
    • Српски
    • Українська мова
    • עִבְרִית
    • العربية
    • فارسی
    • मराठी
    • हिन्दी
    • বাংলা
    • ગુજરાતી
    • தமிழ்
    • ಕನ್ನಡ
    • ภาษาไทย
    • 한국어
    • 日本語
    • 简体中文
    • 繁體中文
  • Have an account? Log in
    Have an account?
    · Forgot password?

    New to Twitter?
    Sign up
sapinker's profile
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Verified account
@sapinker

Tweets

Steven PinkerVerified account

@sapinker

Cognitive scientist at Harvard.

Boston, MA
pinker.wjh.harvard.edu
Joined January 2010

Tweets

  • © 2018 Twitter
  • About
  • Help Center
  • Terms
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies
  • Ads info
Dismiss
Previous
Next

Go to a person's profile

Saved searches

  • Remove
  • In this conversation
    Verified accountProtected Tweets @
Suggested users
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @
  • Verified accountProtected Tweets @

Promote this Tweet

Block

  • Tweet with a location

    You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

    Your lists

    Create a new list


    Under 100 characters, optional

    Privacy

    Copy link to Tweet

    Embed this Tweet

    Embed this Video

    Add this Tweet to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Add this video to your website by copying the code below. Learn more

    Hmm, there was a problem reaching the server.

    By embedding Twitter content in your website or app, you are agreeing to the Twitter Developer Agreement and Developer Policy.

    Preview

    Why you're seeing this ad

    Log in to Twitter

    · Forgot password?
    Don't have an account? Sign up »

    Sign up for Twitter

    Not on Twitter? Sign up, tune into the things you care about, and get updates as they happen.

    Sign up
    Have an account? Log in »

    Two-way (sending and receiving) short codes:

    Country Code For customers of
    United States 40404 (any)
    Canada 21212 (any)
    United Kingdom 86444 Vodafone, Orange, 3, O2
    Brazil 40404 Nextel, TIM
    Haiti 40404 Digicel, Voila
    Ireland 51210 Vodafone, O2
    India 53000 Bharti Airtel, Videocon, Reliance
    Indonesia 89887 AXIS, 3, Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata
    Italy 4880804 Wind
    3424486444 Vodafone
    » See SMS short codes for other countries

    Confirmation

     

    Welcome home!

    This timeline is where you’ll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.

    Tweets not working for you?

    Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.

    Say a lot with a little

    When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart — it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.

    Spread the word

    The fastest way to share someone else’s Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.

    Join the conversation

    Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you’re passionate about, and jump right in.

    Learn the latest

    Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.

    Get more of what you love

    Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.

    Find what's happening

    See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.

    Never miss a Moment

    Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.

    Steven Pinker‏Verified account @sapinker Aug 18

    Despite the cliche "technology can't save us," it probably is the only thing that can. Policy changes (though necessary) are herculean at best and often fall short of what's needed, but cheap clean energy sells itself.http://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6398/120 …

    7:44 AM - 18 Aug 2018
    • 138 Retweets
    • 404 Likes
    • Chris T. Armstrong Who_Me JJ Russell Lord of the Clouds MAOstrap bctenas Anna Gát Ed Clint kier hanratty
    27 replies 138 retweets 404 likes
      1. Ryan Rafaty‏ @ryanrafaty Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        Nearly every major game-changing energy technology since the 19th century has been spearheaded with ample, targeted state support (not just R&D, but subsidies, tax incentives, land grants, etc.), including the fossil fuel industry. Is that not policy?

        0 replies 0 retweets 8 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Gyor‏ @Gyor1 Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        Smartest thing I've heard in awhile politics has it's place, but at the end of the day we are left depending upon the engineers, scientists, and inventors to find solutions.

        0 replies 1 retweet 1 like
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Aleksi Roinila‏ @aleroi Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        Policy can make that clean technology cheaper and more accessible than older tech, speeding up its adoption. And naturally policy can advance tech development.

        0 replies 0 retweets 4 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Marcus Stewart‏ @Marcusdstewart Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        Cheap clean energy only comes about because policy has forced it to. Building in the cost of pollution through policy makes the market and innovation work in that direction. e.g. Solar is only cheap now because it was subsidised first.

        0 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. cesar penafiel‏ @cesarpenafiel Aug 30
        Replying to @sapinker

        Prof Pinker, thou are becoming such an expert on energy, I'm impressed. Having studied energy and worked in energy policy, not only you are right, but you know, understand more about the issue than most so called experts. And you stand for facts, not politically correctness.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Paul 🌹‏ @Boohan33 Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        So yeah, status quo capitalism, huh Steve. And just hope that a miracle technology materializes? What a profound idea!

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Jeffery L Irvin Jr‏ @JefferyIrvinPhD Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        It's has to be. The are only three other choices: 1) hardship for many and luxury for the few; 2) subsistence for all; 3) Hobbesian/Malthusian war of all against all and a huge reduction in human population. I vote science, technology, and progress! 😁

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Michael Spires‏ @inspires25 Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        The people who crack this problem will be the first trillionaires and that is why I think it will happen. Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark did it in the movies and this problem wasn’t even mentioned, seemed like an oversight to me.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. ῭Spooky Primate΅  💀‏ @PalePrimate Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        I agree. Human good will and political pressure are all important and laudable, but an untapped business opportunity is an even better motivator to human nature, and may just be the secret sauce to solving our carbon problem.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. George Poenaru‏ @georgepoenaru Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        It's not a cliche. We are trying to find excuses for being jerks. If there is ever something that can save us that one is named kindness, emotions... qualia This is the cliche might be true. Intelligence without a drop of kindness is the most dangerous thing we can be exposed

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. New conversation
      2. Varga‏ @TravisVarga Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker Its that “though necessary” belief you hold that will damn us.

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      3. Varga‏ @TravisVarga Aug 18
        Replying to @TravisVarga @sapinker

        As long as scientists say they need to be able to tell people what to do, the door is open for collectivism. Instead of every man having the right to his life, to make his own decisions, it becomes a fight between the masters on who can make the best decisions for the slaves.

        0 replies 1 retweet 0 likes
      4. End of conversation
      1. Bryer Sophia-Gardener‏ @BryerSophi Aug 27
        Replying to @sapinker

        Would burning ammonia, creating nitric oxide contribute to global warming? http://as.cornell.edu/news/nitric-oxide-plays-key-role-forming-potent-greenhouse-gas …

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. All County Building Supply & Maintenance Corpse‏ @Sandwichman_eh Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        You say "technology." I think you mean THEODICY. "The nastiest motives of nasty men will save the environment" (not).

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Holden Marie Caulfield‏ @holdenmariecau1 Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        Technology won't save us, if we're to be saved it will be by human beings. This is, of course, why you're not a humanist.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. CJ‏ @BoxofBeetles Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        You are such a silly person.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Zero‏ @TrivialGravitas Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker @0K_ultra

        Except there's been virtually no decrease as a result of 'cheap clean energy', just from cheap less dirty natural gas. Making fossil cleaner and more efficient is a dead end strategy.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. DKlondt‏ @dklndt Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        "In the future, ammonia could be produced by combining that nitrogen with hydrogen generated by splitting water" That will be a future where the process will have net positive energy balance. Right now it is not, thanks to the miserably inefficient electrolysis of water.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. shannon scott‏ @sgordonscott Aug 18
        Replying to @sapinker

        Jesus, it’s obviously Jesus

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo

    Loading seems to be taking a while.

    Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.

      Promoted Tweet

      false

      • © 2018 Twitter
      • About
      • Help Center
      • Terms
      • Privacy policy
      • Cookies
      • Ads info