Verbivores

A Species That Lives On Words
'In "The Stuff of Thought," celebrated Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker sets out to explain how language reveals our inner nature. Terming us "verbivores, a species that lives on words," Pinker argues that our verbivorous, highly biased perception of reality differs radically from the findings of science yet allows us to thrive in a complex universe. The meanings of words matter profoundly, for words determine our reality, or at least a large part of it. Semantics is no arcane intellectual quibble; it lies at the core of our existence.'

LATimes: The Stuff of Thought reviewed by Douglas Hofstadter, September 16, 2007
Time: Words Don't Mean What They Mean by Steven Pinker, September 6, 2007
TED: Steven Pinker Talk: The Stuff of Thought (video, 17 minutes), September, 2007

Art: Keep clear of fear and wants, 2006, Cristina Vergano