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sapinker's profile
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Verified account
@sapinker

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Steven PinkerVerified account

@sapinker

Cognitive scientist at Harvard.

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

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    Steven Pinker‏Verified account @sapinker 7 Sep 2016

    Should we replace democracy with epistocracy? It will never happen but it's an idea that really makes you think.http://nationalinterest.org/feature/against-democracy-17605 …

    8:34 PM - 7 Sep 2016
    • 157 Retweets
    • 272 Likes
    • Fuller Sean Henley lil space ace Alistair Roche Sandy Grant slade grantham Z Lian Hannah Paige AdvancedPatzer
    47 replies 157 retweets 272 likes
      1. Shlomo Engelson Argamon‏ @ShlomoArgamon 7 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        .@sapinker A route to oligarchy and tyranny. It's not just about knowledge, it's about interests. And who will do the testing? Non-starter.

        0 replies 0 retweets 6 likes
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      1. Steven P Moore‏ @m00semuss 7 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        The record of intellectual elites who think they are entitled to power is not a pretty one.

        0 replies 0 retweets 5 likes
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      1. david ropeik‏ @dropeik 7 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        who gets to decide what "knowledge' is?

        0 replies 0 retweets 4 likes
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      1. Jim MacDonald‏ @AthanasiusJam 8 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        That was the clunkiest essay I've read in a while. Perhaps a knowledge test for the epistocrats first?

        0 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
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      1. J G‏ @jgrevolucion 7 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        @TheNatlInterest The great thing ab democracy is every1 gets to vote. The terrible thing ab democracy is that every1 gets to vote.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. 5thGenSnowflake‏ @5thGenSnowflake 7 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        So, basically a literacy test. Where have we seen that before?

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Louis Cohalan‏ @1cohalan 21 Oct 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        re:epistocracy. The ballot in Oz is so complicated that uninformed people do it wrong and ballots rejected, a kind of epistocracy.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. New conversation
      2. Olav M. Underdal‏ @omunderdal_old 12 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        Are you joking? Epistocracy – This is a cute euphemism for authoritarian control and oppression. History is replete with examples

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      3. Olav M. Underdal‏ @omunderdal_old 12 Sep 2016
        Replying to @omunderdal_old @sapinker

        I suggest you reread the US Constitution, with emphasis on Amendments 1, 9, 13-15, 19, 23-24 & 26

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
      4. End of conversation
      1. Ron D'vivre  🚲‏ @ReflectShade 11 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        .@sapinker How about replacing stupid W at least mildly educated? Income inequality? Let's start convo on education opportunity inequality

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Maggie McLennon‏ @mjmclennon 10 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        I think democracy is the way to go, we just need to really modernize the education system.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Byron Price‏ @byronprecio 9 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        Bertrand Russell made a great case against this: who makes the knowledge test?pic.twitter.com/u6lAeqbtzj

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Francis DiBona‏ @Imkiddoc 9 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        Didn't we already try this in the South with literacy tests?

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. mark douglas cettie‏ @MarkCettie 8 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        Democracy flawed like epistemology. Knowledge=sum of predictiveness. Vote=sum of perceived self-interest - but better than Epi

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Dennis Lusk X‏ @denlusk13 8 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        Democracy is two wolves & a lamb deciding what to have for lunch. ~Gary Strand

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Communo-Stalinist‏ @ZombieDiamond 8 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        @TheNatlInterest Banning speech is the same as this, despite what the author claims. Speech definitely impacts others. The point.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Communo-Stalinist‏ @ZombieDiamond 8 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        @TheNatlInterest "We're super correct, but people keep disagreeing, how can we prevent them from changing anything?"

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Communo-Stalinist‏ @ZombieDiamond 8 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        @TheNatlInterest So a liberal vanguard party, a liberal version of Lenin's idea? Lol.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Juan Valle Lisboa‏ @LentoBio 8 Sep 2016
        Replying to @sapinker

        @TheNatlInterest it's just distributed technocracy and has the same problems

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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