APS-David Myers Distinguished Lecture on the Science and Craft of Teaching Psychological Science

The Sense of Style: Writing and Teaching in the 21st Century

Steven A. Pinker,
Harvard University
 

Let’s face it: Most academics are terrible communicators. Why do the world’s most cerebral people find it so hard to convey their ideas? And how can we learn to do better? I suggest that the sciences of mind and language can provide guidance. Thoughtful writers and teachers should begin with a clear idealization of the simulated scenario in which they are communicating with their audience. And they must overcome The Curse of Knowledge: the inability to imagine what it’s like not to know what they do know.