Decline of Violence

I have long wanted to read books by the very erudite Stephen Pinker. (Time magazine named Pinker one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2004.)

I started his book How the mind works in December 2004 but did not really get into the meat of it. (See more about that in my previous post.)

I recommend seeing this TED Talk by him in 2005, in which he previewed his latest book, The Stuff of Thought, which looked at language, and the way it expresses the workings of our minds. He questions the very nature of our thoughts -- the way we use words, how we learn, and how we relate to others.

Now, in another TED talk, Pinker argues that our ancestors were far more violent than we are, that violence has been in decline for long stretches of time, and we are living in one of the most peaceful times of human existence. Seems the decline of violence is a fractal phenomena! Do see the talk to hear more about his interesting argument.

Update: Amit Varma has a quote for the day that goes quite well with the above post.

The direct use of physical force is so poor a solution to the problem of limited resources that it is commonly employed only by small children and great nations.

It is om The Machinery of Freedom by David Friedman, a book Amit strongly recommends.