Uncommon Exchange

George Lakoff, Author; Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics, UC Berkeley

Could the end of California’s political gridlock be one word change away? Lakoff thinks so. Famous for his ideas about the centrality of metaphor to human thinking, political behavior and society, he is particularly well-known for his concept of the “embodied mind,” which he has written about in relation to mathematics. He has submitted a 2010 ballot proposition called the California Democracy Act that would roll back the two-thirds majority needed to pass a budget. The ballot changes two words in the state’s constitution, turning ”two-thirds” to “majority” in two places and, in his opinion, will end the gridlock in Sacramento.

Location: India Community Center, 525 Los Coches St., Milpitas
Time: 3:30 p.m. check-in, 4-6 p.m. program
Cost: $10 members, $20 non-members
Also know: In association with American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley, Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, The Monterey Institute of International Studies, and The Commonwealth Club of California