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 Jan 15

    How much should the government pay to eliminate a disease that kills 6 Americans a year? Now, how much should it pay to eliminate terrorism? John Mueller on why we shouldn't exaggerate the scale of terrorism in the U.S.http://ti.me/2A6kPRE 

    7:03 PM - 15 Jan 2018
    • 215 Retweets
    • 557 Likes
    • Xander Johnson Fernando Padilla Finn Horsley buttch ElectricTorque Noah Goldberg Kyle Digby Sebastian Correa Francis Huber
    85 replies 215 retweets 557 likes
      1. Tom the Dancing Bug‏Verified account @RubenBolling Jan 15
        Replying to @sapinker

        pic.twitter.com/5NWheiDm56

        0 replies 3 retweets 19 likes
        Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. Undo
        Undo
      1. New conversation
      2. The Survivor‏ @nos_supero Jan 15
        Replying to @sapinker

        “F” for statistical rigor. Terrorism is not Gaussian; means are not comparable. Mr. Pinker, u should know better than to spread this junk.

        1 reply 1 retweet 18 likes
      3. St Atheist  🇦🇺‏ @StaunchA Jan 16
        Replying to @nos_supero @sapinker

        A reaction to people calling him the darling of the alt-right maybe, bcos this is rather out of character.

        0 replies 0 retweets 4 likes
      4. End of conversation
      1. New conversation
      2. Sasgora Books™‏ @SasgoraBooks Jan 15
        Replying to @sapinker

        This is an asinine assessment of facts. The number is low because of thwarted threats, most of which are never covered by news or even declassified. Here's a statistic for you, your home has had 0 break ins, you are wasting money on locks and alarms, leave your door open at night

        1 reply 3 retweets 6 likes
      3. 1 more reply
      1. New conversation
      2. augmented.marshall‏ @marshallpittman Jan 15
        Replying to @sapinker

        This is confusing. At least 3000 Americans were killed by terrorists in 2001. How do we arrive at 6 per year? Average over 500 years of our history? I agree that we shouldn't exaggerate, but the quoted statistic seems in error.

        1 reply 0 retweets 9 likes
      3. Tweet unavailable
      4. stevo‏ @stevolondon123 Jan 16
        Replying to @garethbjohnson @marshallpittman @sapinker

        It’s also a bit dishonest to only measure deaths after 9/11. The terror threat to lives is very discontinuous and infrequent. So if you want a more honest assessment you need a long period including many large death events

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      5. End of conversation
      1. New conversation
      2. mehmet umut caglar‏ @self_adjoint Jan 15
        Replying to @sapinker

        I disagree. Diseases do not aim to harm, terrorists, do. If you ignore - to cure a disease that kills 5 in a year, it will (probably) keeps killing 5 a year. - terrorism that kills 5 in a year, it will (probably) be killing orders of magnitude more in the next year.

        1 reply 1 retweet 4 likes
      3. mehmet umut caglar‏ @self_adjoint Jan 15
        Replying to @self_adjoint @sapinker

        Similarly; one can ignore a small burn on hand, but one should not ignore a small melanoma.

        0 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
      4. End of conversation
      1. New conversation
      2. Gregorio Naçu‏ @gregnacu Jan 15
        Replying to @sapinker

        In principle I see the logic. But terrorism isn’t about causing deaths but about causing fear. And it has caused far more fear than any disease that has lead to the same or greater number of deaths.

        2 replies 1 retweet 6 likes
      3. 1 more reply
      1. New conversation
      2. Curt Doolittle‏ @curtdoolittle Jan 16
        Replying to @sapinker

        Steven, That reasoning is an instance of false equivalency of costs. A disease that kills even 100k will not escalate to interfere with the velocity of cooperation (externalities) - nor be curable. While terrorism can both escalate and be cured.

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
      3. Curt Doolittle‏ @curtdoolittle Jan 16
        Replying to @curtdoolittle @sapinker

        (I know you're trying to educate the vox populi on relative risk, but likewise I try to do the same by illustrating that comparison of costs requires full accounting of the seen and unseen.)

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      4. Jordan‏ @jordanticus Jan 16
        Replying to @curtdoolittle @sapinker

        I'd be appreciative of a laymen explanation.

        4 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
      5. Curt Doolittle‏ @curtdoolittle Jan 16
        Replying to @jordanticus @sapinker

        (a) We spend a lot of money on anti-terrorism (the islamic counter-revolution against modernity, which is the latest iteration of the Ashkenazi counter-revolution (marx, freud, boaz, cantor), and the German( Kant, Hegel, etc), French v1(Rousseau) and v2 (Derrida et all).

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      6. End of conversation
      1. New conversation
      2. Alexander Kruel‏ @XiXiDu Jan 16
        Replying to @sapinker

        By the same logic, we shouldn't exaggerate the threat posed by nuclear weapons...pic.twitter.com/vuun8C5edr

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
      3. 1 more reply
      1. New conversation
      2. Nicolai Foss‏ @NicolaiFoss Jan 16
        Replying to @sapinker

        Dumb article. The indirect effects from terrorism are HUGE, including traffic deaths as ppl substitute towards car transport.

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      3. Erik Wedin (LiberalKonservativ)‏ @Aktivarum Jan 16
        Replying to @NicolaiFoss @sapinker

        Correct. According to one study after 911 the fear of flying alone caused additional 1500 killed in traffic on just one year. Thats 1500 divided by 17 years. A lot more than 6 deaths per year which Mueller ignored.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      4. End of conversation

    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