Activity Assignment #1 Summary In Steven Pinker’s Ted Talk he discusses his controversial stance on tabula rasa, or the blank slate. The blank slate is alleged to be what all humans are born into this world with. With the blank slate it is widely believed that one’s structure comes from socialization, parenting, experience, nurture, if you will. Pinker takes an entirely different view on the subject. He does not believe in the blank slate, a controversial opinion that in publishing his book his friends told him to invest in security cameras at his home. He found this astounding because he believed that there were very simple reasons around the fact that he did not believe one enters the world with a blank slate. First, common sense. Researchers and parents can agree that children have a …show more content…
Pinker believes that if children have a temperament they must have entered the world with it, a fact of common sense he states. Second, genetics and neuroscience. Studies have shown that brains of identical twins are more similar than fraternal twins, and both are clearly more alike than the brains of strangers. And finally, we simply like the idea of a blank slate. We like this idea because it makes us equal, providing us the same opportunities when we enter the world. We also like this idea because we have the ability to perfect ourselves into what Pinker refers to as the “perfect species”, an ideal many have. The argument that Pinker presents with this is that fairness does not have to mean that we are the same and our natural motives are not forced to become behaviors. In summary, Pinker believes that we are now presented with an opportunity: a choice to