Steven Pinker on swearing.

I saw Steven Pinker recently, lecturing on language; it was tied into the publication of “The Stuff of Thought”, which was also the name of the talk. Pinker is a psychologist who has written about linguistics, the brain, and evolutionary psychology. It was his reputation that attracted me to the talk.

It was a busy lecture – I only got to go because Edinburgh University decided to move the talk to a large hall – filled largely with students and academics, at a guess.

His main thesis was that language – the words we use and how we use them – gives us an insight into the way our brains work, and into human nature.

( Read more... )

Steven Pinker on swearing.

I saw Steven Pinker recently, lecturing on language; it was tied into the publication of “The Stuff of Thought”, which was also the name of the talk. Pinker is a psychologist who has written about linguistics, the brain, and evolutionary psychology. It was his reputation that attracted me to the talk.

It was a busy lecture – I only got to go because Edinburgh University decided to move the talk to a large hall – filled largely with students and academics, at a guess.

His main thesis was that language – the words we use and how we use them – gives us an insight into the way our brains work, and into human nature.

( Read more... )

A heron on the Water of Leith

The other day I was walking to work beside the Water of Leith when I noticed a heron sitting in a tree; a magpie was anxiously hopping about it in the tree, flapping at the heron. The heron sat there, only occasionally pecking at the magpie. I think the magpie was trying to make the heron fly away, but the heron just sat there – I thought perhaps it might be unwell.

Today, near the same stretch of water, I saw a heron waiting in the water. It was much closer. I watched for several minutes, to see if it would find some fish. It felt quite privileged to watch the bird.

A heron on the Water of Leith

The other day I was walking to work beside the Water of Leith when I noticed a heron sitting in a tree; a magpie was anxiously hopping about it in the tree, flapping at the heron. The heron sat there, only occasionally pecking at the magpie. I think the magpie was trying to make the heron fly away, but the heron just sat there – I thought perhaps it might be unwell.

Today, near the same stretch of water, I saw a heron waiting in the water. It was much closer. I watched for several minutes, to see if it would find some fish. It felt quite privileged to watch the bird.