Victor Villas reviewed Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker
Insufferable
2 stars
Steven Pinker absolutely demolishes his imaginary adversaries in a series of long and repetitive discourses against the most inane straw man arguments - obviously preaching to the choir because creationists, ecoterrorists and whatever else radicals he takes for enemies will not be reading this book anyway.
I'm impressed by how despite we agree on most viewpoints the experience of reading this book is completely overshadowed by the confrontational style. Even more surprising that I liked his book on writing (The Sense of Style)! The problem is not dry or repetitive prose, but the absurd positions he's making out of the other side of the debate. It feels like being stuck on a nerd's shower monologue the day after some bully roasted him for being too optimistic.
Very disappointing because there are long sections dedicated to irrelevant positions like people defending that we should go back to living in forests; while …
Steven Pinker absolutely demolishes his imaginary adversaries in a series of long and repetitive discourses against the most inane straw man arguments - obviously preaching to the choir because creationists, ecoterrorists and whatever else radicals he takes for enemies will not be reading this book anyway.
I'm impressed by how despite we agree on most viewpoints the experience of reading this book is completely overshadowed by the confrontational style. Even more surprising that I liked his book on writing (The Sense of Style)! The problem is not dry or repetitive prose, but the absurd positions he's making out of the other side of the debate. It feels like being stuck on a nerd's shower monologue the day after some bully roasted him for being too optimistic.
Very disappointing because there are long sections dedicated to irrelevant positions like people defending that we should go back to living in forests; while important and possibly fruitful discussions about inequality are completed glossed over. "An increase in inequality is not necessarily a bad thing, if the average poor is less poor" is enough to summarize pages upon pages of defending the hill that inequality isn't a big deal. This is so superficial that it's hard to take anything else he writes seriously.
