Steven Pinker explains why writing well still matters
08 Jul 2015
The award-winning cognitive scientist, public intellectual and Professor of Psychology at Harvard University will give a talk on 'The Sense of Style' on 1 September (6.30pm-8.30pm) in University Place
Does writing well matter in an age of instant communication? More than ever before, the currency of our social and cultural lives is the written form, from Twitter and texting to blogs, e-readers and old-fashioned books.
Drawing on the latest research in linguistics and cognitive science, Steven Pinker replaces the recycled dogma of style guides with reason and evidence. Funny and thoughtful, he explains why style still matters: in communicating effectively, in enhancing the spread of ideas, in earning a reader’s trust and, not least, in adding beauty to the world.
Steven Pinker is an award-winning cognitive scientist, public intellectual and Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He’s also the lauded author of bestselling books The Language Instinct, Words and Rules, The Better Angels of Our Nature and The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature. His latest book is The Sense of Style, The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in The 21st Century.
The event will be chaired by Daniel M Davis, Professor at The University of Manchester and author of The Compatibility Gene. It is presented in partnership with ESOF and Manchester Literature Festival.
Further information and booking