By Steven Pinker
ISBN-10: 0142003344
ISBN-13: 9780142003343
In The clean Slate, Steven Pinker, one of many world's top specialists on language and the brain, explores the belief of human nature and its ethical, emotional, and political hues. With attribute wit, lucidity, and perception, Pinker argues that the dogma that the brain has no innate traits-a doctrine held through many intellectuals up to now century-denies our universal humanity and our person personal tastes, replaces target analyses of social issues of feel-good slogans, and distorts our figuring out of politics, violence, parenting, and the humanities. Injecting calm and rationality into debates which are infamous for ax-grinding and mud-slinging, Pinker exhibits the significance of a decent acknowledgment of human nature in keeping with technological know-how and customary feel.
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Extra resources for The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature
Sample text
1 out of 2 chance Left hand or right hand? There is one chance out of two possibilities in selecting the correct hand. 1 out of 3 chance Left shell, middle shell or right shell? There is one chance out of three possibilities in selecting the correct shell. 1 out of 52 chance Which one is the ace of spades? There are 52 unique playing cards in a deck. There is one chance out of 52 possibilities in selecting a particular card. 1 out of 80,000,000 chance What is the chance of winning the lottery? There is one chance out of 80 million in selecting the winning Powerball Lottery numbers.
If a bear, by virtue of its surroundings, used its legs less and less, would they eventually go away? No, the DNA in the genes of the reproductive cells of the bear cannot sense that the animal is not using its legs. Disuse then cannot be a mechanism for evolution. Darwin was not aware of the mechanisms of genetics, as these principles were being uncovered in a different country by Austrian priest, Fr. Gregor Mendel, during this same time. As genetics became better understood, the concept of acquired characteristics was eventually disproved.
Photo by Debbie Werner Chapter 4 4. The hyena’s hair would have to nearly disappear and be replaced by blubber for insulation through chance mutations in the DNA. The hyena (left) is covered by hair for warmth. Hair does not function to warm the body in water. Whales and dolphins instead have a thick layer of blubber. 45 Chapter 4 5. The nostrils would have to move from the tip of the hyena’s nose to the top of the whale’s head, disconnect from the mouth passage, and form a strong muscular flap to close the blowhole.
The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker
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