Image - Steven Pinker and his book cover
Silicon Valley
Live Stream

Steven Pinker: When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . .

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What’s common about common knowledge, and how does it become common? Common knowledge—the awareness of how others think and even how others think others think—is needed for social coordination, things as basic as driving on the same side of the road or using paper currency. And it has a hidden logic that makes it all work.

Cognitive psychologist and author Steven Pinker returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs in Silicon Valley to explore some of the paradoxes of human behavior. It’s the subject of his latest book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . .: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life.

Pinker addresses issues as seemingly disparate as why people hoard toilet paper when an emergency breaks, why crypto ads clog up Super Bowl advertising, why Russian officials arrested a protester carrying a blank sign, or even why everyone seems to agree that life would be unbearable if everyone was completely honest at all times. Tying it all together, he says, is our ability to know what others think and what others think about what others think . . . on and on, ad infinitum.

Notes

Click here for event parking directions.

This program has 2 types of tickets available: in-person and online-only. Please pre-register to receive a link to the live-stream event.

If you have symptoms of illness (coughing, fever, etc.), we ask that you either stay home or wear a mask. 

Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming.

This program is supported by the Ken & Jaclyn Broad Family Fund.

Ken & Jaclyn Broad Family Fund
 

Photo by Christopher Michel; courtesy the speaker.

Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs.

All ticket sales are final and nonrefundable.

Wed, Oct 8 / 6:30 PM PDT

Santa Clara University
Louis B. Mayer Theatre (near Franklin and Lafayette St)
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
United States

Speakers
Image - Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker

Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University; Author, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows…: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life

Moderator TBA

Format

5:45 p.m. doors open & check-in
6:30–7:30 p.m. program
(all times Pacific Time)

COST

In person (All tickets include a copy of the book When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . . ):
$30 members
$40 nonmembers
$10 students with valid I.D.
$15 Leadership Circle members
Premium seating (reserved seating in first few rows):
$55 members
$65 nonmembers

Online (Club members receive 30–50 percent discounts—not a member? Join)
$10
$40 with a book