--- description: Educated people should think causally rather than magically title: What Quality Education Should Teach You, According to a Harvard Scientist image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44658c6dd2ec55d7/698877aacd1bbadda36fec61/steven-pinker.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Education](/tag/education/) ## Education Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # What Quality Education Should Teach You, According to a Harvard Scientist by [Shane Parrish](/author/shane-parrish/) ## Shane Parrish Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 11, 2016 5:01 AM CUT  Steven Pinker during an interview in New York City on May 22, 2015. Steven Pinker during an interview in New York City on May 22, 2015.Victor J. Blue—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Shane Parrish](/author/shane-parrish/) ## Shane Parrish Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 11, 2016 5:01 AM CUT Harvard’s great biologist/psychologist **Steven Pinker** is one of my favorites, even though I’m just starting to get into his work. What makes him great is not just his rational mind, but his [multidisciplinary approach](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/mental-models/ "undefined"). He pulls from many fields to make his (generally very good) arguments. And he’s a rigorous scientist in his own field, even before we get to his ability to synthesize. I first encountered Pinker in reading [Poor Charlie’s Almanack](https://www.poorcharliesalmanack.com/ "undefined"): Charlie Munger gives him the edge over Noam Chomsky and others in the debate over whether the capacity for language has been “built into” our DNA through natural selection. Pinker wrote the bestseller [_The Language Instinct_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061336467/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0061336467&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=XDNBHBDVDN6NXGL3 "undefined"), in which he argued that the capacity for complex language is innate. We develop it, of course, throughout our lives, but it’s in our genes from the beginning (an idea that has since been [criticized](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429911-000-why-language-is-neither-an-instinct-nor-innate/ "undefined")). Pinker went on to write books with modest titles like [_How the Mind Works_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393334775/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393334775&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=TT4W23JTIXOXUHJE "undefined"), [_The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142003344/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0142003344&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=75GVPITNV2OLB7D2 "undefined"), and [_The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143122010/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fsp%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143122010&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=L6TAMGMYZG55SCU7 "undefined"). The latter is a controversial one: Bill Gates [loves it](http://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/The-Better-Angels-of-Our-Nature "undefined"), Nassim Taleb [hates it](http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/longpeace.pdf "undefined"). You’ll have to make up your own mind. \*\*\* The reason for writing about Pinker is that, while re-reading [William Deresiewicz’s](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2015/08/william-deresiewicz-learn-how-to-think/ "undefined") brilliant speech [Solitude and Leadership](https://theamericanscholar.org/solitude-and-leadership/ "undefined"), I noticed that he had an [extremely popular piece](https://newrepublic.com/article/118747/ivy-league-schools-are-overrated-send-your-kids-elsewhere "undefined") about not sending your kids to Ivy League schools. It’s an interesting argument, though I’m not sure I agree with all of it. A little Googling told me that Pinker, himself a professor at an Ivy League school, responded with an even [better piece](https://newrepublic.com/article/119321/harvard-ivy-league-should-judge-students-standardized-tests "undefined") on why Deresiewicz was imprecise in his criticisms and anecdotes. I was fascinated most by Pinker’s discussion of what an elite education _should_ entail. This tells you a lot about his mind: --- > “” --- If this seems familiar to some of you, that’s because it very closely parallels thoughts by Charlie Munger, who has argued many times for [something similar](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2015/09/munger-worldly-wisdom/ "undefined") in his demand for multidisciplinary worldly wisdom. We must learn the big ideas from the big disciplines. Notice the buckets Pinker talks about: 13 billion years of organic and inorganic history, 10,000 years of human culture, hundreds of years of modern civilization. These are the most reliable forms of wisdom. So if the education system won’t do it for you, the job must be done anyway. Pinker and Munger have laid out the kinds of things you want to go about learning. Don’t let the education system keep you from having a real education. [Learn how to think](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2015/01/how-to-think-2/ "undefined"). Figure out how to [spend more time reading](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2013/05/the-buffett-formula-how-to-get-smarter/ "undefined"). When you do, focus on the most [basic and essential](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2013/08/what-should-i-read-two-ideas-to-help-guide-us/ "undefined") wisdom — including [the lessons from history](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2015/08/will-durant-the-three-lessons-of-biological-history/ "undefined"). Of course, if you’re reading [Farnam Street](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/ "undefined"), you’re already on the right track. **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Farnam Street_**](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2015/12/steven-pinker-broad-education/ "undefined")**_._** **Join over 60,000 readers and get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/newsletter/ "undefined")**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4166790/steven-pinker-broad-education/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4166790/steven-pinker-broad-education/"},"headline":"What Quality Education Should Teach You, According to a Harvard Scientist","datePublished":"2016-01-11T05:01:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:03:20.918Z","description":"Educated people should think causally rather than magically","url":"https://time.com/4166790/steven-pinker-broad-education/","keywords":["Education","Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44658c6dd2ec55d7/698877aacd1bbadda36fec61/steven-pinker.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shane Parrish","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/shane-parrish/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44658c6dd2ec55d7/698877aacd1bbadda36fec61/steven-pinker.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Steven Pinker during an interview in New York City on May 22, 2015.","caption":"Steven Pinker during an interview in New York City on May 22, 2015.","creditText":"Victor J. 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