Harvard Professor Explains The Rules of Writing — Steven Pinker

David Perell June 4, 2025
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I’m here at Harvard in the office of Steven Pinker. He’s written nine books and spent his life studying language, cognition, and writing. In this interview, we started with the practical: the rules of writing. But what makes him unique is that he’s been thinking about AI since the 1980s. So if you’re interested in doing great non-fiction writing in the age of LLMs, this interview is for you. 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:28 Why Is There So Much Bad Writing 00:07:05 How To Make Your Writing Visual 00:11:50 What Makes Writing So Much Harder Than Speaking 00:14:18 Why Examples Without Context Are Useless 00:20:07 What Makes Writing Beautiful 00:22:35 Why Academics Are Such Terrible Writers 00:25:14 What Kids Teach Us About Clear Explanations 00:28:33 Why Shorter Writing Is Always Better 00:34:53 Why AI Writing Feels So Bland 00:41:16 How AI Would Rewrite My Books Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. Follow me Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell

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