family in an English-speaking community. He adopted atheism at 13 and at various times has identified as a "cultural Jew".

His grandparents had immigrated to Canada from Poland and Romania in 1926, and owned a small necktie factory in Montreal. His father, Harry, worked in real estate and was a lawyer. His mother, Roslyn, was originally a homemaker but later became a guidance counsellor and a high-school vice-principal. In an interview, Pinker