In an age saturated with information, the ability to communicate clearly and effectively has never been more crucial. Writing matters -- and when it comes to fiction and screenwriting, you have to be so engaging on the page that no one wants to look away to any of the countless distractions at their fingertips. Doing that is easier said than done. In a recent interview, Harvard professor Steven Pinker dug into just what makes great writing and how you can command attention in the modern era. Pinker is a distinguished linguist and cognitive psychologist. He has also written a ton of books. In this captivating 40+ minute conversation, he shares his golden rules of writing, dissects common pitfalls, and even weighs in on the role of AI in the future of communication.Let's dive in. Unlocking the Secrets of Great Writing: A Glimpse into the Mind of Steven PinkerWhen it comes to writing in the modern era, Pinker identifies the primary culprit behind opaque, confusing writing as a cognitive bias he calls the "curse of knowledge". This is the inability to remember what it's like to not know something that you already know. To illustrate this, Pinker shares a powerful anecdote about a molecular biologist at a TED conference. The biologist, a brilliant researcher, began his talk with a slide full of complex diagrams and technical terms, completely losing his audience from the outset. He was so immersed in his own world of knowledge that he couldn't bridge the gap to...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday