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Show Utah Statesman Filling a blank slate BY NATALIE NAYLOR Senior Writer Monday afternoon ASUSU's Arts and Lecture Series hosted Harvard psychology professor and bestselling author Steven Pinker. Pinker spoke to students and fac- ulty in the TSC Ballroom on the human mind and different theories of human nature that are explored in his latest book "The Blank Slate." 'The Blank Slate' is a book about human nature — a topic of perennial fascination — because all of us have a theory of human nature, all of us have to antici- MkhaelSharp/michaelsharp§ccusu.edu STEVEN PINKER SPOKE to students about the theories behind the development of the human mind and his latest book, "The Blank Slate." pate how people will react to their surroundings. That means that all of us need theories, explicit or implicit about what makes people tick," Pinker said. "So much depends on our theory of human nature in our private lives. We use it to win friends and influence people, manage our relationships, bring up children and control our behavior." In his lecture, Pinker talked about three different doctrines that intellectuals have used to deny the existence of human nature. The first one being the "Blank Slate," which is a theory that the mind has no innate traits. This means people are born with no instincts and must acquire knowledge from their surroundings and community. The second doctrine, a theory called the "Noble Savage," is based on the idea that people are born good and later corrupted by society. The third doctrine, called "The Ghost in the Machine," focuses on the concept that everyone has a soul separate from their body. Each of these doctrines has been heavily debated throughout history. During his lecture, Pinker explained each doctrine in depth and told the audience that grounding values in a blank slate is a mistake because it makes them hostages to fortune. Toshikazu Kuroda, a senior majoring in psychology, came to the lecture because he is interested in psychopathology. "I want to know how people develop," said Kuroda. Pinker has done extensive studies on human development, especially in children. He talked about how genetics may have more of an effect on how children develop than the parenting methods used. He cited examples of identical twins who were separated at birth and later met as adults to find they had similar interests and habits, such as wearing similar clothing and unique eating habits. When his lecture was finished, Pinker then took time to any answer questions those in attendance had for him. -nnaylor@cc.usu.edu ^WATSON From page 5 said. that those who major in it are Another commonly held "geeks." idea about computer science, is,.. of that js true," Dr. Watson said with a laugh. "There are computer scientists who are geeks. But there are also a number of computer scientists r who are not geeks and it's really difficult to find which of those classes you fall into." And it's not only computer scientists, according to Dr. Watson. "Geekdom" sort of invades all of our lives. Who doesn't deal with e-mail now, or text messages?" Watson teaches several different classes at USU, but his favorite is a class on parallel programming. "It's a hoot," he says. "We sit down in class and we write programs, right there. We design it and make it happen right there, in the class." They also make use of a Beowulf cluster, whichWatson helped design and build on campus. The cluster is made up of 17 processors all wired together to create one super computer. Most of the parts were donated, so the total project cost only about $200, he said. And then there are the medieval tournaments and battles. "It's a strange hobby, I understand that. But it's Jennifer Wheatley/jenwheatleyr@ccusu.edu a unique hobby and it's ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF THE computer science department, Dan Watson specializes in parallel processsomething that's totally ing but enjoys making crossbows and reinacting medieval warfare. and completely different from anything related to my job, which is a good thing," Watson said. "It's a full-contact sport," he said. "We don't pull any blows." Part of these battles involves shooting people with the crossbows he creates by hand. "I make crossbows that are designed to shoot very large arrows at people. Ifindthe challenge of bringing a piece of wood and aluminum and string together into a functioning unit is kind of magical" In addition to the joy of shooting his friends with a crossbow, his craft also brings in some extra cash. "I have a small business that builds crossbows. They sell for $200-S400 and I sell them all over the world," he said. Despite his interesting hobbies, his great passion is teaching students to make computers run more efficiently and working to help them create something out of nothing. He clearly loves what he does. "The thing I enjoy as a computer scientist here is that I get to see students who are interested in all kinds of things and all kinds of different applications," he said. "Then to get them to use computer science to make their kind of thing happen for them." -dfelix@cc. usu. edu • LAB WORKERS From page 5 "It's great because now I can continue to teach myself and teach the other consultants," she said. Student Lab Services and YETC consultants are also assigned other tasks not directly related to helping students in the labs. Lambert also serves as a student manager over the other consultants and works public relations for SLS, a job not far removed from her position last year in ASUSU. In the lab of the YETC, there are more than just computers. There is a K-12 curriculum library, NASA resources and a multimedia lab. Thompson was asked to take an extra job filling NASA resources orders. Working with only one or two other employees at a time, consultants find themselves in the middle of rushes every day and the various trials that come with them. Lambert said, "The TSC is the busiest lab on campus. It is sometimes hard to believe how busy it gets. The rush comes around 10:30 a.m. and finally starts to calm down around 4:30 p.m. I think I sat down twice today." When rushes come, students may not be aware of the other labs available to them. "Not everyone is aware that the YETC is open access, so we don't really ever have a waiting list," Thompson said. "Many students think this lab is just for education students." Both Lambert and Thompson said if the lab you are at is full or crowded, please ask a consultant where another lab with available seating is. 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