See more of Steven Pinker here: kzread.info/head/PLFIigLLitqDk_Ly6HhbIKcJZr4TooeoSX

Unlike a lot of interviewers, Fry doesn't muddy the discussion by massaging his own ego,very refreshing.

@alientube1984

4 жыл бұрын

He actually does a little bit, but he keeps it borderline.

@jcee6886

4 жыл бұрын

@@alientube1984 I think it's his enthusiasm that makes it seem that way.

@cjmitz

4 жыл бұрын

@@jcee6886 I wouldn't see it in a negative way. His excitement along with varying mood and passion for the subject definitely come across. You can see he has to actively pause to allow the other man to speak. This actually shows how self-aware and controlled he is in an excitable mood - something very rare

@granthurlburt4062

3 жыл бұрын

Totally agree. And unlike a lot of said interviewers, he would be interesting!

I propose a new genre of lofi hip hop featuring Stephen Fry discussing random topics called, "LoFry". It's chill and enlightening.

@EntertheGam3

Ай бұрын

Greatest idea I've ever heard

I love Stephen Fry's corteous and respectful way of debate

@optimize.

3 жыл бұрын

Stephen certainly has such a way of debating and I couldn’t agree more. In this particular case I’d say ‘dialogue’ might me a more accurate description of his aim and approach.

@kevincarrigan635

3 жыл бұрын

I also applaud S. Fry's social graces, but who told U that this was a Debate ? Not a friendly conversation, between like minded scholars ? As is my wish for Palestinians & Hebrews.

@abdelrahmanmohamedafifi6879

Жыл бұрын

​@@kevincarrigan635 fat chance

What I love about these two is every time they speak I find myself compelled to take notes, pause and rewatch, then go and study the concepts, terms, and history I hadn't heard of before. Almost nothing else in life can spark in me the yearning to learn, as much as listening and watching superior minds in discourse. Both these men, as well as the other "horsemen of new atheism" fill me with awe and inspiration.

@willmpet

2 жыл бұрын

I'm watching it again. I obviously didn't hear everything. I watch films several times because I want to get all the kernels of wisdom out.

@quantumfineartsandfossils2152

2 жыл бұрын

these are useless farty Epstein conmen the are not our worlds genius males you dont hear about those

@jaredadams7736

Жыл бұрын

Religious Speakers, Enlightenment Speakers & Many Other Sharp Minds Are Needed. Which Is Why They Attend Colleges & Such, To Break Up Idiocy Before Hell Emerges.

@nincompoop323

Жыл бұрын

Couldn't agree more: the rewatching and note-taking

@jaredadams7736

Жыл бұрын

I learned about Stephen J Fry in a Monk Debate, when he was sitting side by side with Jordan B. Peterson. They both listened to the Race Baiter Lunatic named ( Mike Erik Dyson ), which might I add Mike Dyson was talking Race, Race, Race, Oh... and Don't forget about Race 🤣

I just love how Stephen looks when he is listening to Steven talk. You can tell he's genuinely listening, understanding, picking apart.. etc.

@bastijn5599

3 жыл бұрын

@The Traditionalist Mind who shat in your coffee mate?

@InservioLetum

2 жыл бұрын

"and then you say something like conjunct" I absolutely died laughing at this point. Sooo relatable.

@timkunits3426

2 жыл бұрын

Is that what you saw? I got the sense that he was thinking..."If we were in prison, you'd be my bitch"

Two fine examples of how the English language should be spoken.

@youbetuist

6 жыл бұрын

Indeed :-D

@bartholomewtott3812

6 жыл бұрын

Snobbery

@peteoid

6 жыл бұрын

“The only people who seem to bother with language in public today bother with it in quite the wrong way. They write letters to broadcasters and newspapers in which they are rude and haughty about other people’s usage, and in which they show off their own superior ‘knowledge’ of how language should be. I hate that, and I particularly hate the fact that so many of these pedants assume that I am on their side.” - Stephen Fry

@ClintonAllenAnderson

6 жыл бұрын

Bartholomew Tott "snobbery"? You spelt "standards" incorrectly.

@rstainsbury

6 жыл бұрын

I love these two SOOO hard!

Pinker and Fry is the intellectual buddy cop movie we never knew we wanted.

@jamiemorris6088

3 жыл бұрын

But it's the one we needed!

@dhruvgupta794

3 жыл бұрын

yes

@ankushds7018

3 жыл бұрын

Speak for yourself young lad(y). I've wanted that from the time I could think

@markle1216

2 жыл бұрын

There’s no We I’ve made it clear and so did America China Canada India Mexico etc

@richardcampbell8498

2 жыл бұрын

Meh, there’s much better pairings. Pinker is a passionless dullard. Not even Fry’s great wit could elicit some interesting back and forth from him.

Glad things like this are now so easilly available to anyone!

Such a privilege to listen to this conversation between two stellar intellectuals and humanists.

@DB-qw6xq

Жыл бұрын

The Enlightenment belongs to the phenomenon that is humanity, and not to atheism as an ideology, we have all benefited from the enlightenment and we can all use it together to create new ways to improve the lives of all, especially in the areas of peace. To suggest that only reason, science, humanism, and progress are the natural benefiters of the enlightenment is to hijack it and make it exclusive to an atheist agenda - i.e. that which has a proven record of utter destruction to humanity!

@spadebraithwaite1762

2 ай бұрын

I don't know the grey haired guy but Stephen Fry ain't much smarter than guy that just gave you fries with that.

@myopenmind527

2 ай бұрын

@@spadebraithwaite1762 at least you are willing to admit that you are ignorant.

This is fantastic. A conversation where two super intelligent people, who know the difference between Fact and Opinion, teach the masses.

@r13hd22

6 жыл бұрын

Yet Pinker calls Damore and MIlo "Alit-right" and neither are alt-right. Intelligent? Yes, yet still fallible

@birgittabirgersdatter8082

6 жыл бұрын

Richard Depaola jr intelligent has never meant perfect. Intelligent people are more likely to know that they are not perfect.

@r13hd22

6 жыл бұрын

Never said it meant perfect...I pointed out the flaw in the OPs statement. An intelligent person knows when they do not know something and Mr Pinker made his statement as a statement of fact, not a statement of opinion.

@tinylittlevampire

5 жыл бұрын

@@r13hd22 yes, fallible. Especially when he said "Capitalism is just superior. That 's just a fact." On Joe Rogan. That's...just a fact, Steven? Since when do scientists say things like...well, that's just a fact. That's that. Now what about that scientific method, bruv?

@r13hd22

5 жыл бұрын

@@tinylittlevampire Umm, yes they actually do say things like "Thats just a fact" when a thing has been proven beyond a doubt when looking at all information...and Capitalism IS superior. Socialism only looks good to those lacking in most information not only about both economies, but also about history.

After listening to this, I feel like my brain just ate a chocolate :D

@illyriandescendant7963

4 жыл бұрын

Hahahahaa that's a good one.

@patdiggin7053

3 жыл бұрын

Forrest gump

@Ratigan2

2 жыл бұрын

I had a similar thought! I said to myself that watching this was like feeding my brain, but I like your metaphor better :D

@George.Andrews.

2 жыл бұрын

After listening to this my brain wonders why it was recorded from a stage mike and not from the desk

loved listening to Stephen and Steven. Propose a drinking game: drink whenever the word "indeed" is uttered.

@juangabrielsaizvarona332

6 жыл бұрын

I've already had about 14 drinks...

@zetetick395

6 жыл бұрын

"I am drunk indeed!"

@VastlyVessels

6 жыл бұрын

Hiccup!!

@zetetick395

6 жыл бұрын

"Sozzled, in thought and indeed" XD

@SN-qu2gz

5 жыл бұрын

I rhink rhR IA a freat ideo\@|!!!

Fry is the ultimate interviewer for intellectual discussions .

@ZacksMetalRiffs

6 жыл бұрын

He's a beast

@georgegraham6069

6 жыл бұрын

No he's not. He barely keeps up with high school physics.

@EdWilde

6 жыл бұрын

No he isn't. I have to agree with @Cliff Hanley. I love Fry...but his ego runs away with him when he is the interviewer...his basic feelings of being 'less than' are exposed. Sad, since he is such a brilliant man.

@WyreForestBiker

6 жыл бұрын

What a strange view ! ..I haven't seen an interviewer who interrupts LESS than him.

@EdWilde

6 жыл бұрын

He is not always 'the authority' on the subject, yet insists on inputting his shining "look what I know" statements.... It's not a big thing. As I've said, I'm a big fan of his and he is a very brilliant man.

Its great that guys like me, ordinary construction worker types can find a huge amount of interest in things that not long ago would be very difficult if not impossible to hear for anyone but students and other proffessors.. I even understand most of the words.

@mickaymiller9622

4 жыл бұрын

Alan Roberts Don’t discount yourself: just to like exploring such conversation is admirable and how else to “get to Carnegie Hall” except to practice...and grow. Until annoying mouth smacking drives ME away!

This was a fun surprise to see these two gentleman share a stage, loved both of their enthusiasm!

Splendid pair of Stevens.

@aether-elephant

6 жыл бұрын

Hahahahahahhhaaaaahahahahaa!!

@elizabethblackwell6242

5 жыл бұрын

What is the collective noun for "Stev(ph)ens"?

@Sophiedorian0535

4 жыл бұрын

@@elizabethblackwell6242 Stephanymophores: bearers of names derived from the name Stephanus.

@idecantwellbarnes6707

4 жыл бұрын

The BEST with great thanks. Delightful.

Steven Pinker should be the new Doctor Who

@shmookins

6 жыл бұрын

Doctor Who should be the new Steven Pinker. :p

@alexomara3483

6 жыл бұрын

ha ha yes indeed!

@ChollieD

5 жыл бұрын

But he isn't a black, French-speaking, trans-gender Lesbian in a wheelchair! I demand that the next Doctor be Intersectional As Fuck.

@ChollieD

5 жыл бұрын

@Shadow Heart Well, *_I_* was having a laugh. Smile! :0)

@alexomara3483

5 жыл бұрын

Shadow Heart: who hurt you? Nothing more pathetic than a snowflake commenting on an opposite snowflake about commenting not realising the irony of the comment

great discussion. nice to see that Fry wasn't just being a placeholder, but engaged and asked good questions.

Steven looked many times to engage the audience, a lovely quality.

Pinker is just great. Better Angels blew my mind. The defense of modernity is sorely needed and almost never aired in this age, and I didn't even know that until I read the book.

@gibberconfirm166

5 жыл бұрын

"The Blank Slate" and "How the Mind Works" are well worth reading. If anything, he so soundly and brilliantly crushed the issues he approached that popular science has all seemed pretty boring to me, since then. And some current cultural arguments still seem almost deranged--"Pinker already won this argument in 2002."

@mattgreer86

4 жыл бұрын

isreview.org/issue/86/steven-pinker-alleged-decline-violence

@mattgreer86

4 жыл бұрын

blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/war-scholar-critiques-new-study-of-roots-of-violence/

@mattgreer86

4 жыл бұрын

Pinkers book has been widely criticised by his peers. I'm suprised he hasn't retracted it yet

@douglasthomashayden2566

4 жыл бұрын

@@mattgreer86 Evidence for that assertion, then...provide it.

What a wonderful event - I wish I'd been there in person! Really enjoyable talk between two very different but extremely eloquent and intelligent people.

This is just brilliant. Awesome. So good. Stephen is such a good interviewer AND a good actor AND so well read.

@Vlasko60

Жыл бұрын

Stephen and Steven are gifts to humanity.

I love Pinker, love how he stays simple and general in his answers until the interviewer presses for elaboration or the other interviewee ratchets up the debate, and then Pinker opens the gates to myriad examples and explanations. But I do wish, if it's in him, that one time he would confess a love for something totally irrational like dancing to the Doobie Brothers.

@johnnycharisma162

2 жыл бұрын

The interviewer?

I absolutely love Stephen Fry he does so much for the world. His impact on generations to come should never be understated. With people like stephen who even needs a god?

@samvidrajwar6424

5 жыл бұрын

You just spoke my mind, sir.

@irielion3748

2 жыл бұрын

Isn't Fry God?

@DB-qw6xq

Жыл бұрын

The Enlightenment belongs to the phenomenon that is humanity, and not to atheism as an ideology, we have all benefited from the enlightenment and we can all use it together to create new ways to improve the lives of all, especially in the areas of peace. To suggest that only reason, science, humanism, and progress are the natural benefiters of the enlightenment is to hijack it and make it exclusive to an atheist agenda - i.e. that which has a proven record of utter destruction to humanity!

I was there - Pinker is very articulate and does not constantly name drop in order to impress.

@mabaker

6 жыл бұрын

Unlike daddy Peterson who constantly has to rely on name calling and reminding his alt right fans why they’re wasting so much money on his Patreon account.

@jamesshin4901

6 жыл бұрын

Must have been ecstatic!

@xenojivaswitness2204

6 жыл бұрын

Isnt name dropping a way of letting the listeners know that the idea you are about to say comes from somebody else? Like how you put a source on a statistical evidence because it wasn't you who conducted the test/survey?

@kardas666

5 жыл бұрын

@boson96 can you point to some sources of your claims?

@elizabethblackwell6242

4 жыл бұрын

You lucky doer.

two of the very best human beings in the world :-) A pleasure.

Stephen is such a great talker but also a sublime listener, he listens so intently so his follow up questions are so acutely phrased

I return often to just enjoy - definitely enlightened by these two gentlemen. Thank you both. I hope for another conversation with you both very soon.

if men-women like these men, with such insights & visions would be 'in power' (gouvernements) in the whole world, what a difference society would be...

@cloudatlas349

4 жыл бұрын

Let's hope we get there someday... we're still evolving, and barley out of the dark ages, so despite the current political situation, I think there's hope in the long run. I know, call me over optimistic, but still! ✌

@gracewoodard9134

4 жыл бұрын

@Reggie Cyde Do you remember when Harvard's the Best and the Brightest ran US policy? Disaster. My experience is that academics can be a pretty petty bunch...has nothing to do with brain size and intellectual interests.

@sammavacaist

4 жыл бұрын

Vast majority of people would find this intolerably boring.

@baronvonlimbourgh1716

3 жыл бұрын

But they don't spread hate and tell people what they need to be against. They would fail misserably in politics.

@sammavacaist

3 жыл бұрын

@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 You shouldn't need to be told to be against treating people like 2nd class humans because of race, sex, etc.

Pinker: DON’T SAY IT DON’T SAY IT DON’T SAY IT DON’T SAY IT DON’T SAY IT Indeed.

@Ratigan2

2 жыл бұрын

I found it a strange too thinking it was a lot more posh than using, say, "exactly." :D

23:17 Love this: "To treat other people and ultimately other sentient creatures as equivalent in interests to my own." That's why we need to upgrade Humanism to @Sentientism: "evidence, reason and compassion for all sentient beings." A simple worldview, but one with radical, positive implications - for us human animals, for non-human animals and for the planet we all share. Maybe the next edition of Enlightenment Now will be subtitled "The Case for Reason, Science, Sentientism and Progress" :)

@emdiar6588

Жыл бұрын

Problems: 1. defining sentience. At what point on the spectrum of sentience or the ability to react to external stimuli, do we draw the line. Most plants and fungi could be described as having senses. 2. bacon.

@Sentientism

Жыл бұрын

@@emdiar6588 Thanks for your reply! 1) That challenge doesn't undermine the moral salience of sentience. Other terms like "life", "human" and "person" face similar challenges - yet they remain useful. My suggested approach is not to think of Sentience as a strict binary on/off - but as something that likely has fuzzy edges (like "life") - in our understanding of it if not in reality. We can use science to work out, always imperfectly, where that fuzziness is. We can also grade sentience. So far I've seen no evidence that plants/fungi experience suffering or flourishing - but if they did, maybe that experience would be less intense than that of animals? As ever, let's follow the science. And wherever it is and whoever experiences it - surely all suffering matters morally? 2) I get that taste pleasures are important to many people. But are they really important enough to justify the suffering & death involved in satisfying them? Particularly as the alternatives available can give other wonderful taste experiences without causing suffering & death. Even the plant-based bacons are getting really good. Well worth a try if you love the smoky taste. Most find that the taste pleasure of bacon is much more about smoke and salt than it is about the flesh of sentient pigs. Personally, any pleasure I used to take from consuming animal products has now been replaced by a deep ethical disgust at what those products are, how they were made and what that meant for the experiences of the sentient beings involved and their families.

@stupidas9466

Жыл бұрын

@@Sentientism as to your response to 1) well said. No rebuttal required. As to 2) i say "mmmmmmmmmmm…..bacon. I win.

@Sentientism

Жыл бұрын

@@stupidas9466 1) Thank you. 2) Nominative determinism 🙂

I MISS CHRISTOPHER !

@hfive2715

6 жыл бұрын

kamiel choi agreed.

@PritchDringle

5 жыл бұрын

Christopher is dead? What? Oh my god. Call Mom RIGHT NOW. Wait, how do you know my brother?

@ThrowingStones32

5 жыл бұрын

Many do...and more importantly, all "should" miss him even more. Yet I have his books close by me...he's not going anywhere.

@elizabethblackwell6242

4 жыл бұрын

Hitch xxxx.

@sarahgalanaki2188

4 жыл бұрын

so do I , I sorely miss his input in todays debates......

i feel like stephen is fan-girling and its so cute

Arguably, the best 1hr 18 minutes I've spent on KZread for a hell of a long time... I could listen to these Intellectual Leviathans converse many times over.

Love you, Stephen Fry! Thanks for the great interview!

These are two of my favourite people.

I love how excited Stephen is in the video. He knows he's going to be talking to one of the tiny group of people on the planet with a bigger brain than him. It's like the Mensa equivalent of going to see Santa!!

@sammavacaist

4 жыл бұрын

Fry has blind spots in his thinking process. Living a reclusive life of autodidacticism doesn't necessarily mean you're smart about everything.

@quantumfineartsandfossils2152

2 жыл бұрын

these are useless farty Epstein conmen the are not our worlds genius males you dont hear about those

@urbangorilla33

2 жыл бұрын

@@quantumfineartsandfossils2152 What are you talking about?

@kingy002

2 жыл бұрын

@@urbangorilla33 Why waste your breathe and time on it!

I have really enjoyed Steven Pinker's books, but I think my favourite moment of his was when he played electric guitar on the roof of Buckingham Palace. \m/

@rohmann000

3 жыл бұрын

Lol

Stephen Fry and Steven Pinker? This is a total atheist-gasm! Love it!!!

@robertpirsig5011

5 жыл бұрын

Would you atheist-gasm at an audience with Stalin and Hitler? Honest question.

@acolytes777

3 жыл бұрын

@Reggie Cyde thing is atheism is a non theistic religion

@acolytes777

3 жыл бұрын

@Reggie Cyde God is dead meaning that theres no morality once God is 'killed' according to Nietzsche. But you're right man is deified, nevertheless it doesn't take away that Atheism is a religion.

His book 'The Better Angels of our Nature' blew my mind. I highly recommend it.

The fact that this video has 500k views while some cat videos have 50M views is just saddening. I feel like I learn something new every time I listen to Stephen Fry or Steven Pinker, especially when they're having a conversation. Amazing.

@soonyanaidu7875

4 жыл бұрын

People would rather die than think Cat videos don't need any work

@gonx9906

2 жыл бұрын

You cant defeat cats on youtube

@valerianmandrake

Жыл бұрын

Proves people react more strongly to cute stuff than smart stuff. Of course, one could possess both qualities. My friend's cat is a true intellectual, he comes up with novel ideas all the time.

Two of my favorite people, thank you for the upload.

Thank you for your own ongoing insight, imagination coupled with teaching to sustain my mission to becoming more consciously watchful including spiritually connected.

Absolutely awesome to listen to these 2 gentlemen my goodness what a thrill thank you

Thank you, on behalf of everyone, for debunking the “good old days”

OMG Two of my favorites! Thank you!

Sharp, intelligent, insightful and very well read... And Pinker is no slouch as well.

These two are national (world) treasures, two of the most enlightened and inspired thinkers who excel in quality of imagination.

My favorite quote of Marshall McLuhan is, "We are developing more & more diverse means of communicating, less & less significant ideas". Sound a wee bit like Facebook & social media, maybe ???

@rustycherkas8229

3 жыл бұрын

The McLuhan quote I remember is, "The medium is the message." Regarding FB, twitter and, yes, even KZread comments, the media and their messages are worth every penny you pay for it!

two personal heroes of mine. theworld might be a better place if this video had several million more views.

Great conversation. What an excellent way to spend Easter break.thank you.

Fantastic conversation. Great to be a fly on their wall. Would be interesting to have same chat today vs C19 and Russia/Ukraine.

The world's two greatest Stevens!

@michellesupper6849

4 жыл бұрын

Only one Steven. The other is a Stephen :)

Totally enlightening!!! Thank you for beaming a bright light on a dark world.

Basic ideas discussed with extravagant jargon that the masses think is profound.

@E2O10

4 жыл бұрын

And? The point isn't to prove their intellect but to make the public think. What do you mean "extravagant jargon"? Are you intimidated by articulate speakers that have actually glanced at a dictionary or read books? Comprehension of a language helps with explanation of ideas. They actually think and consider what they say instead of spewing the first banality that comes to mind.

@baronvonlimbourgh1716

3 жыл бұрын

How is this extravagant jargon?

I want to see Brian May and Pinker trade hair-grooming tips.

@BidlaBuh

6 жыл бұрын

and german talkshowhost thomas gottschalk...

@pseudonayme7717

6 жыл бұрын

And Albert Einstein...

@malkeh53

6 жыл бұрын

Nathan, I love your comment. Laughing. And they are both scientists too.

@tattarrrrattat

6 жыл бұрын

Oh they'd get on famously.

@burlatsdemontaigne6147

6 жыл бұрын

... and Simon Rattle.

How is it possible that Steven Pinker and Chris Hedges as non economist say more sensible things about the economy than most economists

Little treat!!

My God that went quick!!Ive been listening and not realised that an hour has passed already!!

Both of these guys are fantastic. Here's a fun drinking game while watching: take a shot every time Pinker says "indeed".

@edmundblackaddercoc8522

5 жыл бұрын

Prateek Lala i don't need a 'trigger' to have a shot!

Love these two guys! Steven must be manic here as he looks like he's about to burst. If so his performance is even more impressive. Great conversation!

Enjoyed this! Correction: Derrida actually defined deconstructionism as moving from what the text means to say to what the text is constrained to mean (i.e. Meaning in language/writing/speaking is constrained but to social layers not just physical reality). Foucault simply added that discourse (e.g. how we discuss gender, mental health and education) often serves the function of propagating power relationships between certain groups (doctors/patients, men/women, adults/children). Postmodernism accepts the facts of reality but simply considers how those facts play out in the social world.

I know I have been truly entertained when I find myself clapping with the audience.

Thank you for sharing this.

11:58 this is the sexiest pronunciation of "Aufklärung" I have ever heard from an Englishman. Even though his way to say it is a bit cliche: Hard, aggressive and with a very throaty "r". I love it.

@sammavacaist

4 жыл бұрын

Too bad they're both hideously ugly men.

@finnradoy1742

4 жыл бұрын

@@sammavacaist I'd bet that it is because they somehow oppose your political ideology that you now have to go into the comments and for no reason whatsoever live out your foolish emotional state of anger because you lack the capability of controlling it yourself.

@sammavacaist

4 жыл бұрын

@@finnradoy1742 Doesn't make them better looking. Its caused Steven great pain throughout his life. He's said as much.

@finnradoy1742

4 жыл бұрын

@@sammavacaist It caused him pain that he isn't attractive? I'd like the source on that, and even if so, I don't find Pinker unattractive, and besides all of that, what exactly has that to do with any of the ideas that were discussed or the fact that someone finds the pronounciation of Aufklärung sexy? You're not really contributing to anything here and I wonder where that drive to spread hatred comes from.

@sammavacaist

4 жыл бұрын

@@finnradoy1742 Do you call out men who trash unattractive women this hard?

Great minds! Totally enjoined it!

Improbable configurations! Yay, been looking for a term for this. :)

Fabulous to hear two such likeable intellectuals speaking on our strange existence. Should be compulsory viewing if that’s not contradictory. Thanks and well done.

Love this perspective!! Hope both left and right be humble enough to take cues from Mr. Pinker's work to continue progress without falling into insensible pseudo sense of moral superiority.

Thanks for the vid :-) Enlightenment is on the march. However slowly and meandering, it is still worthy identity for us all.

@verigumetin4291

3 жыл бұрын

@Reggie Cyde lets hope this doesnt transform into something detrimental to society

@verigumetin4291

3 жыл бұрын

@Reggie Cyde friend the news is always like that

Such a quick 1hour and 20min.....loved it.

Thank you for a free lesson. 🦋🌼

That was excellent.

Bravo Steven Pinker! Thank you for helping to spearhead the course correction of Culture, Politics and Academia. When I realized that a well respected Lefty had been speaking out, I actually felt a noticeable sense of relief from the overwhelming injustice of what has been going on.

There are just too many ways to go wrong than get things right. Good point!

This is a brilliant discussion. Thank you so much.

I hope StePHen hosts more things like this.

I think like "Tea & cookies," an interview/chat-up between Pinker & Peterson would be absolutely delightful! These two intellectuals could only enhance one another. Both men are articulately polite, in full mature control of their emotions, and share the joy; the sheer enthusiasm of discovering new ideas; regardless the degree of interest being equally mutual. I have read '12 Rules' & Pinker's 'The Stuff Of Thought' as well. I'd like to know what is the 'hot-beverage' of their choice!!!

@bisque6448

3 жыл бұрын

Jordan interviewed Pinker once online. There's a video of that somewhere on his channel.

Pinker is a visiting lecturer at my university and I cant wait to hear him talk :)

i rely on scholars, even if i do not completely agree with their analysis, i always walk away a richer man for the experience....we are blessed with those who do the research....i for one have a problem staying on the subject, fortunately, we have those whose claws won't turn loose of the subject

Student: Master, how are we to treat others? Ramana Maharshi: There are no others.

A great interview.I really enjoy the openness of this discussion,which shines a strong light on the brilliant Mr Pinker and his analysis.I applaud the fact that some taboo issues are covered (or should that be uncovered?) aswell .Enlightening indeed. Thanks for the post.

@mortisCZ

4 жыл бұрын

His believes, books and media image make J. Peterson very alt right in my personal European terms. He is probably not extreme right but traditional right here is more business and less morals.

My new word for the day - deleterious. Thanks Stephen

I wish there was a Stephen Fry digital overlay that I could put on all my devices. Whenever I don't understand something (or just for fun), I can push a button and Stephen Fry's wonderfully gracious voice will explain what I'm currently looking at or working on.

@baronvonlimbourgh1716

3 жыл бұрын

I'd install that.

"When he thinks I'm coming--" Fry: 😊 "--but I'm not." Fry: 😥

Good interview, but I note that there was no Q&A...

@thekaxmax

6 жыл бұрын

was a discussion not an interview

This was great, more like this please.

I would like to see these two talk about the meaning of LOVE.

@TribuneAquila

2 жыл бұрын

The meaning of love, or what is love, is baby not hurting me. Not hurting me. No more.

Maybe if principles of the enlightenment were taught beginning at an early age things might have turned out differently.

@AkshayTomar1987

3 жыл бұрын

What principles?

@chrissimpson7634

2 жыл бұрын

@@AkshayTomar1987 scientific method, freedom of speech, freedom of enquiry, freedom of religion 100% should be taught from a young age imo. Don't teach kids what to think, teach them how to think.

Cracked my screen smashing the Like button!

This is a very necessary insight. It was there for a long time, but it´s great to see it all clearly exposed and connected. Well done. It is a welcome alternative to the current flow of public opinion.

Two substantial minds enlightening us on The Enlightenment, Fry & Pinker tell of the Scientific Revolution. I'd suggest that Gutenberg's printing press was the real major trigger nearly 200 years earlier. Earlier literacy was limited to those who could afford the expensive hand-copied text & books to read, but the poor majority had plenty of its citizens wanting to know what was in those books, and how to respond in writing. Affordable, mass-produced books opened a portal to knowledge for the inquisitive poor who knew that knowledge was power, and that this power was largely denied by the economics of literacy until that time! This press was liberation of minds! The religious leadership that lent 'spiritual support' to the oligarchs in Medieval Europe was exclusively privy to this often secret knowledge. Literacy in Europe finally began rising among the most intelligent poor first at about 10% per decade almost immediately after Gutenberg's more automated press got replicated all over the Western countries. The ideas shared through an increasingly literate populace created a social & intellectual synergy that naturally led to wide expression of dissatisfaction about the status quo. The dogmatic order of the Dark Ages was crumbling under the weight of new knowledge created in the cauldron of sharing and recording among the people at large. Intellectual comradery was born, leading to questions about everything, often haphazard at first; science was the response to apply discipline to acquiring and sharing knowledge in a systematic way. Science empowered literacy to become a rational force that challenged old ideas with new ideas that could be shown to work better or work at all! Give the working folks the power of knowledge, and good things happen. ...like The Enlightenment!

I don't find reproduction as shallow. It has given my life tremendous meaning. Giving more humans the ability to be part of the universe experiencing itself. My drive now is to help create a world in which their lives are allowed to be filled with that awe and not tediously wasted as cogs in a wheel or slaves to dogma.

@milekrizman

4 жыл бұрын

This is so well said

@sophitsa79

4 жыл бұрын

Nice but futile

@baronvonlimbourgh1716

3 жыл бұрын

It is fullfilling a selfish need. The need to feel more important then you actually are. And that is fine, we all end up doing whatever gives us that feeling. Doesn't take away the shallowness of it though.

It's great to see Fry doing something interesting. I realise I've missed him. It's better than his interactions with fans on social media which is essentially a tidal wave of sycophancy met with Fry's planet-sized bashful modesty.

I can only describe this talk as a beautiful mesh between science and art.

54:30 - This is what I shall show to friends my previously unexplainable love of Star Trek.

Steven Pinker as the new Doctor in Doctor Who? Only if Stephen Fry plays the Master!!!

When he quotes that the most effective methods against inequality include pandemics at 38:20... This is only from 2018... 2020 heard and was like 'challenge accepted'. (Well, it might've if the universe cared about shit like that.) I've discovered that if you have food, water and shelter, boredom becomes the great enemy you'll do anything to defeat. No wonder people seem to be happier if they have more money: they can buy more stuff to distract themselves. Overall, this makes a great and interesting discussion to while away my broken, let's stay up until 4am schedule now I have practically no responsibilities anymore. If nothing else, this year's giving us all time to think about things we might not ordinarily have a spare moment to consider. And yes, this comment's so long because I've nothing better to do : )

@andrewclifton429

3 жыл бұрын

Contrary to Pinker's assumptions, the current pandemic has not brought about any great reduction in inequality. In highly unequal societies, like the USA, it has done the exact opposite. Thanks to the governments abject failure, to manage the crisis responsibly, tens of millions have lost their jobs and therefore, health insurance; some 40 per cent of small businesses face bankruptcy before the end of the year - but meanwhile thanks to vast government bailouts, the stock market is soaring and the richest 1% have seen their collective wealth grow by hundreds of billions of dollars. I used to admire Pinker as a scientist - but he's discovered that churning smart-arsed propaganda for neoliberal capitalism is vastly more lucrative than doing real science. Just do a google search on criticism of his two latest books and you'll soon find out what a charlatan he is.

@lys3849

3 жыл бұрын

@Andrew Clifton Well, I'm in Europe and things haven't been quite so serious here. Our governments are a bunch of idiots, but overall it was managed better. Thanks for your input. I'll probably just read the books to form further opinion, rather than merely the criticism, but I can certainly see where you're coming from. I mean, we've watched how things have been around the world, and yeah, the rich are doing just fine, while the broke are even more so now in most cases... but he was quoting someone else, far as I recall (it was four am, so I don't remember perfectly), so that it turned out to not be entirely accurate speaks more on who he considers quotable than anything. Don't worry, there are still people in the world who think and research for themselves. I wouldn't just take Pinker's word on anything. As they say, citation needed : )

@andrewclifton429

3 жыл бұрын

@@lys3849 He was quoting from "The Great Leveller" by Walter Scheidel - and it's a great book, if somewhat depressing! TL;DR: historically, the rich don't relinquish wealth unless some unusual situation shifts the balance of economic power and forces them too do. This doesn't prove Pinker's glib point (i.e., you can't reduce inequality except via disaster), but rather, it's really, really difficult. No kidding. It doesn't make it impossible, just not at all easy.

@Pancakepanda903

3 жыл бұрын

Boredom is a great state to be in. It is the mother of invention. If you think about it, as people have gottne less bored, and create greater and better distractions for themselves through absolute absorption of things such as social media (yes i see the irony of that statement), they stop thinking, become complacent and tend to ignore or become ignorant of the happenings around them. They see less of what is right there in front of them, becoming increasingly isolated. Boredom is marvelous. It gives time for deep reflection, of ourselves, situations around us and to find better cures for boredom which are not found in "things". But in production, invention and the connection of people around us.

@jeandeaux9757

2 жыл бұрын

Well, past pandemics have claimed an incredibly vaster amounts of lives. It has been claimed that the Great Plague was the main reason for the end of feudalism in Europe.

Steven Pinker had a greater influence on me giving up on religion then any of the four horsemen. I have read the blank slate and better angels. I am looking forward to reading enlightenment now.

@Gottenhimfella

5 жыл бұрын

It would be interesting to hear more about what arguments you found most challenging, and/or persuasive.