2. We do not naturally and automatically acquire “intellectual depth” and habits of deep reflection,” Pinker writes (10). According to Pinker, how and when--in what kind of institutions--do we develop these capacities?
In “Mind Over Mass Media” Steven Pinker explains that we learn through training in a specific field or a special institution. Pinker discusses how beginners learn new information by focusing on a certain subject until they have gotten better at that subject. Pinker says, “If you train people to do one thing, they get better at doing that thing, but almost nothing else” (561). He is proving that we acquire knowledge on a subject only after exploring the subject. Pinker is a firm believe that technology is the ideal way to learn more about a subject quickly. He says, “Fortunately, the Internet and information technologies are helping us manage, search, and retrieve our collective intellectual output at different scales, from Twitter and previews to e-books and online encyclopedias” (561). Tools such as the Internet have provided more information to all those who are trying to learn about a subject. Pinker provides information on how we learn through focusing on a subject; we can do this either by training at a special institution or with the use of technology.