causal

Violence Is Limited by Desire Not Cost

The amount of violence we see is not limited by the cost of technology but by the small number of people who think it a good idea to cause massive damage for no reason beyond publicity; the rate-limiting step on terrorist destruction is human desire, evidenced by how few attacks occur despite no technological or economic impediment to a pressure-cooker bomb anywhere.

causalpending

Speaker

Steven Pinker

Evidence Quote

The rate-limiting step on terrorist destruction is how many people think that it’s a good idea to cause a lot of damage for no particular reason.

Source

Steven PinkerConversations with Tyler
Created: 6/13/2026, 3:34:01 AM

My Notes

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