Raiza Ruiz-Kline
Sarah Klein
MCWP 40
8 October 2015
Writing Prompt 1: “Revenge of the Nerds” In “Revenge of the Nerds” Steven Pinker asserts that four dominant traits contributed to the way of life that allowed the ancestors of the modern Homo sapiens to develop powers of reasoning and enter what he refers to as “the cognitive niche” (Pinker 191). By establishing the function of these four traits and linking them all to the resulting lifestyle changes as these traits evolved (and the subsequent changes in ancestral humans’ cognitive capabilities), Pinker seeks to argue that a specific set of traits and circumstances led to the emergence of humans into a higher level of cognitive function than other organisms following other evolutionary paths
Sarah Klein
MCWP 40
8 October 2015
Writing Prompt 1: “Revenge of the Nerds” In “Revenge of the Nerds” Steven Pinker asserts that four dominant traits contributed to the way of life that allowed the ancestors of the modern Homo sapiens to develop powers of reasoning and enter what he refers to as “the cognitive niche” (Pinker 191). By establishing the function of these four traits and linking them all to the resulting lifestyle changes as these traits evolved (and the subsequent changes in ancestral humans’ cognitive capabilities), Pinker seeks to argue that a specific set of traits and circumstances led to the emergence of humans into a higher level of cognitive function than other organisms following other evolutionary paths