Colbert's interviews, in my opinion, are weak, since he can't make up his mind to stay in character (jab at the guests) or draw out the guest's talents. I thought it was a wonderful opportunity missed. If you didn't know Pinker's work, you'd wonder why he was the guest! Colbert is pretty bright, though, with the little jabs about object permanence (making Pinker appear and disappear) and the pokes at evolution, MIT, etc.
Compare Jon Stewart's interview style, who is the best I have ever seen at drawing out a guest's strength (_the_ class act on the interview circuit). I have noticed that, at the end of every interview, while the camera pans back and the're about to cut to a sponsor, he leans in and has a friendly chat off camera. He has _never_ left anyone hang out to dry, despite many opportinities to do so (D Souza, for one). Interestingly, the only person I ever see leave the set before the friendly chat was Bill Gates, who was off to market Vista in London. ----------------------------- John W. Kulig Professor of Psychology Director, Psychology Honors Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 ----------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: Charles Harris [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 9:54 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Steven Pinker vs Stephen Colbert tonight, Feb. 7 The guest on the Comedy Channel's Feb. 7 "Colbert Report" is experimental psychologist Steven Pinker. This is rather short notice, but the show is repeated a few times on Feb. 8, and the interview will likely be available later for viewing on or near http://tinyurl.com/ysmotw, i.e.: http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=81828&ml_colle ction= --Charles Charles S. Harris, PhD webmaster, No Two Alike website http://xchar.home.att.net/n2a/ webmaster, The Nurture Assumption website http://xchar.home.att.net/tna/ --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=engl ish --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
