RSA ANIMATE: Language as a Window into Human Nature
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker shows how grammar, swearing, and indirect speech reveal the deepest structures of human thought and social interaction.
Why we picked this
Pinker turns everyday language — including the words you'd never say to your boss — into a window on how the human mind actually works.
Why do we speak indirectly? Why does swearing feel different from other language? Why do bribes and threats work better when they’re implied rather than stated?
Pinker argues that language isn’t just a tool for communication — it’s a record of how humans navigate social relationships. Every euphemism, every hedge, every carefully worded request reveals something about the game theory running beneath ordinary conversation. We use indirect speech not because we’re being polite but because we’re managing the difference between individual knowledge and mutual knowledge.
This RSA Animate takes his core insights and makes them visual, tracking the hidden logic of everyday speech in real time. You’ll never listen to a conversation the same way again.