ClaimsPeople

Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker is listed by Harvard as the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology, and he is the author of widely read books including The Language Instinct, The Better Angels of Our Nature and Enlightenment Now.

879 claims collected, 167 researched, 99 resolved. Report of 5 November 2026, method 0.1.0+28da144b.

Scores by kind of claim

Each kind of claim is scored on its own, out of 100: the share that held up, with the range it likely falls in. Fewer resolved claims give a wider range.

  • Factual claims

    Statements about the present or the past, checked against the record: did they hold up?

    74 68 79

    High confidence, 97 factual claims resolved. From 19 documents, 2002 to 2026; 19 documents sampled from 36 candidates found.

    Not scored: 49 unresolvable, 2 checkable only against their own records.

    See the factual claims

  • Predictions

    Statements about events outside the person's control, checked once they fell due: did they come true?

    Insufficient record: 1 prediction resolved, 5 needed for a score.

    Not scored: 12 unresolvable. 2 more fall due later.

    Does not yet allow for how likely each prediction was when made.

    See the predictions

  • Promises

    Commitments to the person's or organisation's own future action, with something to deliver: was it delivered?

    Insufficient record: 1 promise resolved, 5 needed for a score.

    Not scored: 2 unresolvable.

    See the promises

All types combined: 74 (likely 68 to 79, high confidence), from 97 claims: 97 factual claims. It mixes kinds of claim in different proportions for different people, so compare people kind by kind.

Steven Pinker's claims

2 claims

2 claims, sorted by newest said. Choose a claim to read it in full.
VerdictKindSaidClaimTopic
Own records only Factual 24 Sep 2025 Pinker gives many more A grades than he used to, to avoid an empty lecture hall. Factual · 24 Sep 2025 Their own work or organisation
Own records only Factual 24 Sep 2025 According to Pinker, students in his course are not performing as well as students used to on an assessment that he describes as constant from year to year. Factual · 24 Sep 2025 Philosophy, ethics and society
Back to the list

Steven Pinker

Open its page

Factual Their own work or organisation

“I give way more A’s than I used to, just so I don’t have an empty lecture hall.”

Steven Pinker, interviewee 24 September 2025 Steven Pinker on Coordination, Common Knowledge, and the Retreat of Liberal Enlightenment (Conversations with Tyler)

Pinker gives many more A grades than he used to, to avoid an empty lecture hall.

Own records only Only the person's or their organisation's own records speak to it, so it is not scored.

Reasoning

Whether this is true depends on Pinker's own grading records, which the material does not show to be public.

Cite this claim

Steven Pinker, “Pinker gives many more A grades than he used to, to avoid an empty lecture hall.” (said 24 September 2025). Verdict: own records only. Reliability API, claim c_0f6027b3ea34, method 0.1.0+28da144b. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_0f6027b3ea34

Claims without a verdict

Is a verdict here wrong, or do you speak for Steven Pinker? Reply on the claim's own page, with the form at its foot (how replies work). Verdicts are made automatically; how verdicts and scores are made.