Matt's review
The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature
by Steven Pinker
Matt's review
The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Steven Pinker
Matt's review
rating:
Somewhat inconsistent for me. Some sections were really interesting and I blew right through, others were a struggle. Oddly, those two categories were the exact opposite of what I expected when I thumbed through the book at first. I expected to muddle through the sections dealing with verbs (how we learn them, learn how to use them correctly, and categorize them), and counting nouns, and they were the most interesting. I also expected to like the sections dealing with metaphors, naming, and cursing, and they didn't really hit a home run for me.
It's a pretty varied book, with vastly different sections. Pinker says that the book brings together two different trilogies he had previously written. I'd definitely be interested in reading more of his work on specific types of verbs, that was the most interesting section to me. Someone more into linguistics might have a better score for the book than I did, I just picked it up on a lark and didn't know anything about the subject goi...more
It's a pretty varied book, with vastly different sections. Pinker says that the book brings together two different trilogies he had previously written. I'd definitely be interested in reading more of his work on specific types of verbs, that was the most interesting section to me. Someone more into linguistics might have a better score for the book than I did, I just picked it up on a lark and didn't know anything about the subject goi...more
