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How will we live well in a super-networked, information-soaked, yet predictably irrational world? The only way to know is to understand how the way we think is changing. As economist Tyler Cowen shows in Create Your Own Economy, the way we think is now changing more rapidly than it has in a long time. Cowen argues that in our now Internet-centric world we are continually breaking down information into ever-smaller pieces and ordering and reordering them in our minds (and our computers) to meet our individual needs. The more information we obtain, the more we want (and the more we can get). An analysis of this process enables us to understand how the mass consumption of information now occurs.

In this provocative Forum, Cowen and guest panelists will discuss the overall viewpoints presented by the book, and will focus on the insightful analysis it offers on the unique thought processes of autism–how the autistic penchant for grasping information through classification, categorization, and specialization illuminates the way in which mainstream society now reaches for and dissects information. As the book’s title suggests, this can shed a powerful light on where society and our economy are headed. We can now re-examine how politics, government, democratic decisionmaking, social networking, and more are perceived. We can reevaluate how these institutions are working (and will work in the future) and what elements will contribute to their success.

(Professor Jeffrey Schaler of American University, previously listed as speaking at this event, will be unable to attend owing to a personal matter.)