Alison Gopnik's 'Explanation as Orgasm' Hypothesis Goes Viral
stevenstrogatz · x · 2026-10-06
Steven Strogatz shares cognitive scientist Alison Gopnik's paper "Explanation as Orgasm," whose hypothesis holds that "explanation is to cognition as orgasm is to reproduction" — the pleasure of explanation drives cognitive activity rather than being its goal. A closely related open-access paper is linked.
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