Steven Pinker -- How the Mind Works - Hampshire High Italian ...

542 | HOW THE MIND WORKSdren and fiction for adults is commonly summed up in two words: sexand violence. Woody Allen's homage to Russian literature was entitledLove and Death. Pauline Kael got the title for one of her books of moviecriticism from an Italian movie poster that she said contained "thebriefest statement imaginable of the basic appeal of the movies": KissKiss Bang Bang.Sex and violence are not just the obsessions of pulp fiction and trashTV. The language maven Richard Lederer and the computer programmerMichael Gilleland present the following tabloid headlines:CHICAGO CHAUFFEUR SMOTHERS BOSS'S DAUGHTER,THEN CUTS HER UP AND STUFFS HER IN FURNACEDOCTOR'S WIFE AND LOCAL MINISTER EXPOSED FOR CONCEIVINGILLEGITIMATE DAUGHTERTEENAGERS COMMIT DOUBLE SUICIDE;FAMILIES VOW TO END VENDETTASTUDENT CONFESSES TO AXE MURDER OFLOCAL PAWNBROKER AND ASSISTANTGARAGE OWNER STALKS AFFLUENT BUSINESSMAN,THEN SHOTGUNS HIM IN HIS SWIMMING POOLMADWOMAN LONG IMPRISONED IN ATTIC SETS HOUSE ON FIRE,THEN LEAPS TO DEATHFORMER SCHOOLTEACHER, FOUND TO HAVE BEEN PROSTITUTE,COMMITTED TO INSANE ASYLUMPRINCE ACQUITTED OF KILLING MOTHER IN REVENGEFOR MURDER OF HIS FATHERSound familiar? See the endnotes.Fiction is especially compelling when the obstacles to the protagonist'sgoals are other people in pursuit of incompatible goals. Life is likechess, and plots are like those books of famous chess games that seriousplayers study so they will be prepared if they ever find themselves in similarstraits. The books are handy because chess is combinatorial; at anystage there are too many possible sequences of moves and countermovesfor them all to be played out in one's mind. General strategies like "Getyour Queen out early" are too vague to be of much use, given the trillions