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 Oct 13

    42 years after The Selfish Gene, most science writers still don't understand that natural selection does not act for the good of the species. Otherwise excellent NYT article: Plants Can’t Talk. But Some Fruits Say ‘Eat Me’ to Animals.https://nyti.ms/2C4PfqN 

    11:15 AM - 13 Oct 2018
    • 208 Retweets
    • 656 Likes
    • Yan Shiyu Esther Blaauw Steven Smith Alex T Michael Sumner Pisssmaker Brady Neal Ash K. AHMED ELHAG YOUSIF
    38 replies 208 retweets 656 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Michael Flux  🍱‏ @michaelflux Oct 13
        Replying to @sapinker

        Science writers and understanding of science.pic.twitter.com/0Z7p3EWJbE

        1 reply 5 retweets 23 likes
      3. 1 more reply
      1. New conversation
      2. Nick Gillespie‏Verified account @nickgillespie Oct 13
        Replying to @sapinker

        Some cakes, too.pic.twitter.com/iow6vN3GnM

        3 replies 1 retweet 19 likes
      3. 1 more reply
      1. BehavioralTerrain‏ @JohnKirbow Oct 13
        Replying to @sapinker

        A nod to you and Dawkin's work. It explains why the idea of 'egalitarian pre-modern utopia' is nonsense, and why morality is often misunderstood.https://medium.com/@johnkirbow/the-case-for-modernity-science-and-progress-7c11220216e1 …

        0 replies 1 retweet 5 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. New conversation
      2. outrepool‏ @outrepool Oct 13
        Replying to @sapinker

        The science is less settled than you seem to think. "In a group, selfish individuals beat altruistic individuals. But, groups of altruistic individuals beat groups of selfish individuals." - E. O. Wilson.

        1 reply 3 retweets 6 likes
      3. 2 more replies
      1. New conversation
      2. Jacques‏ @Garcilaso87 Oct 13
        Replying to @sapinker

        Hard to define “good" when the very same definition is a result of evolutionary processes. I mean you cannot detach from evolution and be a neutral observer, how you observe has been determined by evolution too

        1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
      3. Micah Glasser‏ @micahglasser Oct 13
        Replying to @Garcilaso87 @sapinker

        Exactly right. What is good? What is moral? What is human flourishing? I love these questions but the answers are not obvious or easy. Maybe Enlightenment values are the best path to prosperity, but really it's a shot in the dark. These same values could be our destruction.

        3 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
      4. Cobb_Allmighty ®️‏ @CobbAllmighty Oct 13
        Replying to @micahglasser @Garcilaso87 @sapinker

        But then what is destruction, and is it really bad? We have fundemental intuitions that we take for granted even to get the most rigid science off the ground.

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      5. Micah Glasser‏ @micahglasser Oct 13
        Replying to @CobbAllmighty @Garcilaso87 @sapinker

        Destruction seems fairly easy to define. To disorder, deform, and disintegrate that which was ordered, formed, and integrated. That's just off the top of my head. Whether it is good or bad must be answered by the subjective individual experiencing it. Nature doesn't give a rip.

        2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
      6. Jeff‏ @Jeff06701301 Oct 14
        Replying to @micahglasser @CobbAllmighty and

        What if destruction is merely removing that which was deformed already to make room for order?

        2 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      7. Cobb_Allmighty ®️‏ @CobbAllmighty Oct 14
        Replying to @Jeff06701301 @micahglasser and

        Right. I feel if we play this language game we'll find difficulty saying anything really means anything. Sometimes we have to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps.

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      8. Jeff‏ @Jeff06701301 Oct 14
        Replying to @CobbAllmighty @micahglasser and

        I'd say we'd find that words that we typically understand to be "negative" or even "positive" are really serving other functions, greater functions, and so it's our level of analysis, of focus that has to change, not the definitions. You should watch Jordan Peterson.

        3 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      9. Cobb_Allmighty ®️‏ @CobbAllmighty Oct 14
        Replying to @Jeff06701301 @micahglasser and

        Oh I do. Lol but I watch Sam Harris more. 😎

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
      10. End of conversation
      1. Jobine Bernous‏ @jobinebernous Oct 13
        Replying to @sapinker

        Its too frightening a concept that we evolved out of random "necessity" for survival, which makes us question all of our features with our judgemental superego's, leading people to defend against such notions that we may be accidentally flawed and accidentally gifted.

        0 replies 1 retweet 1 like
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Marc-André Servant‏ @SinisterServant Oct 13
        Replying to @sapinker

        Natural selection doesn't even act for the good of the individual, but instead for the good of the gene. Genes can make copies by increasing reproductive success, but also by copying themselves to other parts of the genome, by causing cancer, by killing non-carrier embryos, etc.

        0 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Trump Studies Dept.‏ @ProtectHomeland Oct 13
        Replying to @sapinker

        So, EXACTLY WHY do living things act so as to continue living and to reproduce? Non-living things don't seem to do this. Why do biological things seem to have a "will to survive"? Darwin even implied (perhaps accidentally) purpose/intention with his phrase "Natural SELECTION."

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. Echo Chamber‏ @EchoChamber451 Oct 13
        Replying to @sapinker

        I’d love to hear you, @RichardDawkins and @JonHaidt discuss his findings on group selection. Seems like he has some evidence our psychological tribal nature has influenced our evolution, but only in humans I believe.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
        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