I disagree. It is actually sometimes quite illuminating listening to an expert using heuristics outside of his field of expertise. As a mental excercise.
You can find hers (and co-author Sam Sternberg's) opinion on CRISPR as a method to do bioerror in her book "A Crack in Creation".
I would put more faith in the predictions of a statistician or actuary (possibly with a expert in consult).
He might be, but this comment provides no argument as to whether he is, nor does it say anything about the subject matter.
Not to mention that even a "jackass and a jerk" can be absolutely correct, since those accusations are mostly about behavioral and/or moral failings, not intellectual.
There are many more points than that that could be made, but it does not seem necessary.
If Einstein was a serial killer on the side, relativity would still be a great theory...
That takes for granted what it should instead prove. Pinker, regardless of who he fraternizes with or what moral causes he supports or not, is an acknowledged scientist.
>Let's listen to them instead of the creep who hangs out with rapist pimps.
Who people hang with is irrelevant. We don't and shouldn't change who we listen to on technical/scientific/etc matters based on their personal morality (even less so based on someone's idea about that). We change who we listen to on those matters based on the quality of their arguments and domain knowledge.
In any case, we should not bring moralizing and posturing into discussions and into who we listen to, except if the morals in question are related to the subject matter.
E.g. I would be suspect to economic arguments from an economist who has been found to take money from states to push some agenda. But I wouldn't be suspect to economic arguments from someones who enjoys killing kittens. I just wouldn't take environmental / pet advice from that person...
acknowledged: recognized as being good or important. "he's an acknowledged expert in the field"
I don't like Pinker as a public intellectual and not because of the company he kept, because of how sloppy he is with numbers, and an extremely argumentative egotistical posture. Some of his ideas are interesting.
If you're going to start bone pointing to evil, do it somewhere else.