Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by one of my favorite authors, evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker. It was even better than I had hoped. He examined some of the ways in which language offers clues about human thought, emotion, and social relationships. I intended to take notes but immediately realized that every word he said was noteworthy and so I put down my pencil and just tried to process it all. Fortunately I'll be able to watch it again on C-SPAN in about a month. The lecture made me long to go back to college, or to go to my idealized conception of a college, one where every professor is simultaneously eloquent, informative, and entertaining. After the lecture I had a chance to chat briefly with Pinker. I was hoping to say something intelligent, or at least intelligible, but my side of the conversation was reminiscent of Homer Simpson talking to the editor of 'Reading Digest' ("That article on vocabulary building was really, really, really... good."). Nevertheless, I enjoyed being in the presence of greatness. Pinker has a new book, which I can heartily endorse without even having read it. Also, if you haven't read the Blank Slate or How the Mind Works, I encourage you to get copies of those as well... you'll thank me.