[Buddha-l] S. Pinker (linguist, cognitive psychologist)

[jkirk]

> That would be consistent with his stance in <cite>The Blank
> Slate,<\cite> in which he says that saying that ANYTHING may be
> genetically inherited rather than culturally conditioned will bring on
> the academic Thought Police. He cites ample evidence that numerous
> people across the country have almost been drummed out of the corps for
> even suggesting as one of several hypotheses that certain abilities (or
> lacks thereof) might have genetics as a factor. It has become, he
> claims, a taboo hypothesis.
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Pinker might like to know also that the sainted Larry Summers, when running 
the World Bank, is responsible for this gem:
In a memo on 12 December 1991 on the impeccable economic logic of locating 
dirty industries and dumping toxic waste in poor Southern countries, Summers 
opined: "I think the logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the 
lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that." He 
concluded the memo with the caution that his analysis "could be turned 
around and used more or less effectively against every bank proposal for 
liberalization."
He turned out to be prophetic. The memo was leaked and sparked a huge 
controversy that helped fuel a movement to ban the trade in toxic waste.
[good thing, too. JK]
From, http://www.newint.org/issue336/worldbeaters.htm

Nothing like unintended consequences, eh? Or, perhaps it was karma.
Joanna