Scientist, author Steven Pinker to lecture on how the mind works

Steven Pinker

Scientist and author Steven Pinker will present a free public lecture on how the mind works as the second speaker in a lecture series presented by the neuroscience training program.

The acclaimed author wrote the 1997 bestseller “How the Mind Works,” a book that examines topics ranging from why people believe in ghosts and spirits to what makes us laugh.

Pinker, director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will speak Friday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m. in 1100 Grainger Hall. The lecture is co-sponsored by the University Lectures Committee and the neuroscience training program.

Pinker’s latest book has attracted widespread attention and generated controversy. In it he focuses on evolutionary psychology, suggesting new insights into how people make decisions, why they take risks, what makes people lose their tempers or fall in love. His 1994 book, “The Language Instinct,” was also a bestseller and presented theories related to how humans acquire language.

Pinker, who received his doctorate in experimental psychology from Harvard and then studied linguistics with Noam Chomsky, joined the MIT faculty as an assistant professor in 1982. He was appointed professor and director of the center in 1989.