Pun Salad

I'm a reader of Marginal Revolution, where the author, Tyler Cowen, blogs with Alex Tabarrok. (They are both economics professors at George Mason.) So I knew Tyler was likely to write an interesting book. And when I noticed that the library at the University Near Here had a copy, I snapped it up.

UNH had the hardcover version, which, although with the same content, has a totally different title: Create Your Own Economy: The Path to Prosperity in a Disordered World. Tyler says he likes the title and cover of the paperback better. I think neither title really catches the book's theme though.

Nor does the product description at Amazon:

The Age of the Infovore will show you how to manage the massive daily flow of data better, no matter how adept you may already be at Facebooking, watching television, or studying for that test.

Somewhat surprisingly, the main theme of the book is autism. We might think of autism as a disorder, or a handicap; Tyler wants instead to get beyond that, and simply observe that autistics have a different "cognitive profile" than non-autistics, made up of not only cognitive weaknesses but also relative cognitive strengths. For example, autistics have strong skills in "ordering knowledge" and "perceiving small bits of information" in their preferred areas.

Tyler further notes that we're moving to an era where autistic cognitive strengths are likely to become more important. Good for them, also good for us. In a very wide-ranging discussion, he explains how this might play out in politics, economics, art, and other fields. (And, in a final chapter, its effect on the "future of the universe." I shit you not.)

Tyler's style is breezy and casual. Lots of gee-whiz short sentences, in kind of a cross between your typical self-help tome and USA Today. I would have actually preferred a bit more academic tone and content. Bottom line: a very interesting read, just not at all what I expected.

Consumer note: the hardcover is available new (as I type) from Amazon for $3.72, a veritable bargain, even though you have to endure Tyler's less-preferred title.