Steven Pinker: Linguistics as a Window to Understanding the Brain | Big Think

In this lecture, Steven Pinker, renowned linguist and Harvard Psychology Professor, discusses linguistics as a window to understanding the human brain. New videos DAILY: Join Big Think Edge for exclusive video lessons from top thinkers and doers: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How is it that human beings have come to acquire language? Steven Pinker’s introduction to the field includes thoughts on the evolution of spoken language and the debate over the existence of an innate universal grammar, as well as an exploration of why language is such a fundamental part of social relationships, human biology, and human evolution. Finally, Pinker touches on the wide variety of applications for linguistics, from improving how we teach reading and writing to how we interpret law, politics, and literature. Read the full transcript on: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist who conducts research in visual cognition, psycholinguistics, and social relations. He grew up in Montreal and earned his BA from McGill and his PhD from Harvard. Currently Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard, he has also taught at Stanford and MIT. He has won numerous prizes for his research, his teaching, and his nine books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, and Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT BIG THINK: Smarter Faster™ Big Think is the leading source of expert-driven, actionable, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, we help you get smarter, faster. ​Our experts are either disrupting or leading their respective fields—subscribe to learn from top minds like these daily. We aim to help you explore the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century, so you can apply them to the questions and challenges in your own life. Other Frequent contributors include Michio Kaku & Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Michio Kaku Playlist: Bill Nye Playlist: Neil DeGrasse Tyson Playlist: Read more at for a multitude of articles just as informative and satisfying as our videos. New articles posted daily on a range of intellectual topics. Join Big Think Edge, to gain access to an immense library of content. It features insight from many of the most celebrated and intelligent individuals in the world today. Topics on the platform are focused on: emotional intelligence, digital fluency, health and wellness, critical thinking, creativity, communication, career development, lifelong learning, management, problem solving & self-motivation. BIG THINK EDGE: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOLLOW BIG THINK: 📰: 🧔Facebook: 🐦Twitter: 📸Instagram: 📹YouTube: ✉ E-mail: info@ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSCRIPT: For more info on this video, including the full transcript, check out