Oct 242007
 

0. Preface In this and the next few installments, I will be addressing a number of connected ideas: the changing role in our lives of material things; the changing nature of firms; the rise of what I shall term hyper-creativity; how it interacts with slower moving institutions such as government; some examples; and the connection of all these with advertising.  All these are involved in the change from what I will now call the “Money-Thing […]

Oct 222007
 

As readers of this blog already know, I first came up with the phrase “Attention Economy” to describe the entirely new kind of economic system that I see as increasingly dominating our lives. It is an economy in the sense that it involves allocating of what is most scarce and precious in the present period, namely the attention that can come to each of us  from other human beings. As you also know, ever since […]

Sep 182007
 

Here’s some Q &A from the Encyclopedia Britannica online: Quick Facts about Bellow, Saul Biography Q: Who is the author of “The Adventures of Augie March”? A: Saul Bellow is the author of “The Adventures of Augie March” Q: Who is the author of “Dangling Man”? A: Saul Bellow is the author of “Dangling Man” Q: Who is the author of “The Victim”? A: Saul Bellow is the author of “The Victim” …. Quick Facts […]

Sep 172007
 

A couple of years ago, the philosophy professor Harry Frankfurt made publishing history of a sort by allowing his 7,000-word paper “On Bullshit” — which lives up pretty well to the second word in its title — to be published as a book. Bind some printed pieces of paper together, preferably in hard covers, distribute them via bookstores, at a cost of around $20, and voila, you have a book. If you choose not buy […]