--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The obvious cure for the tragic…" description: "\"“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/steven-pinker-526_cognition_the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcom_67651.jpg" --- # The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human… ![“The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to provide students with the cognitive tools that are most important for grasping the modern world and that are most unlike the cognitive tools they…” quote by Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/steven-pinker-526_cognition_the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcom_67651.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/steven-pinker-526_cognition_the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcom_67651.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/steven-pinker-526_cognition_the-obvious-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcom_67651.jpg) > ““The obvious cure for the tragic shortcomings of human intuition in a high-tech world is education. And this offers priorities for educational policy: to provide students with the cognitive tools that are most important for grasping the modern world and that are most unlike the cognitive tools they are born with. The perilous fallacies we have seen in this chapter, for example, would give high priority to economics, evolutionary biology, and probability and statistics in any high school or college curriculum. Unfortunately, most curricula have barely changed since medieval times, and are barely changeable because no one wants to be the philistine who seems to be saying that it is unimportant to learn a foreign language, or English literature, or trigonometry, or the classics. But no matter how valuable a subject may be, there are only twenty-four hours in a day, and a decision to teach one subject is also a decision not to teach another one. The question is not whether trigonometry is important, but whether it is more important than statistics; not whether an educated person should know the classics, but whether it is more important for an educated person to know the classics than to know elementary economics. In a world whose complexities are constantly challenging our intuitions, these trade-offs cannot responsibly be avoided.”” [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education must prioritize cognitive tools—like statistics, economics, and evolutionary biology—that counteract human intuition’s failures in a technologically complex world. **In simple terms:** Prioritize modern cognitive tools over traditional curricula. Key Takeaway Teach skills that align with contemporary complexities. Themes education policy cognitive bias modern curriculum statistics economics evolutionary biology Mood urgent thought‑provoking critical Type policy recommendation analytical essay When to use this quote - high‑school curriculum design - college major selection - policy debates on STEM vs humanities - teacher training programs - student skill assessments Key Concepts cognitive tools intuition limits curriculum trade‑offs modern challenges Practical Applications - revise high‑school curricula to include probability and statistics - integrate economics fundamentals into liberal arts programs Questions to Reflect On - Which cognitive tools are most neglected in current curricula? - How can schools balance depth in modern subjects with breadth in traditional knowledge? A Different Perspective Some argue that humanities foster critical thinking and cultural literacy, which are also essential for navigating modern complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cognition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cognition/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [English Lit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-lit/) [English literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-literature/) [Foreign language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-language/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuition/) [Intuitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuitions/) [Medieval times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medieval-times/) [Modern world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-world/) [Statistics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics/) ## Related quotes > [In a high tech world the cure for the tragic shortcomings and perilous fallacies of human intuition is education, but education in economics, evolutionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/in-a-high-tech-world-the-cure-for-the-tragic-shortcomings-and/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [There does seem to be a sense in which physics has gone beyond what human intuition can understand. We shouldn't be too surprised about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/there-does-seem-to-be-a-sense-in-which-physics-has-gone-beyond-what/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We live in a culture that doesn't acknowledge or validate human intuition and doesn't encourage us to rely on our intuitive wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/we-live-in-a-culture-that-doesn-t-acknowledge-or-validate-human/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) > [We all have within us a deep wisdom, but sometimes we don't know we have it. We live in a culture that doesn't acknowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/we-all-have-within-us-a-deep-wisdom-but-sometimes-we-don-t-know-we/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) > [“Close your mouth Lily, you look like a codfish." "I can't help it. This place looks like something out of medieval times. 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