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The marketplace is the epitome of interactivity. It exhibits quite well emergence, flow, and pragmatism.

Business antitrust laws encourage diversity. Competition is a byproduct of diversity. So is cooperation. Diversity favors the emergence of new ideas, products, outlooks. Diversity provides flexibility. It favors a sense of pragmatism and flow. What works, works. If you get a lemon, make lemonade. Ideas are engines of creation.

History shows that trade has been our prime interactive tool. It still is. It is fitting then to celebrate the art of trade. It is remarkable to see how the trade of intangibles is gaining value. Top intangibles like know-how, services, and links are also top interactive elements. Are we redefining values? Are we changing the game? What game?

Game theory is gaining importance in economics and in the world of business. Nobel prizes in Economics (1994 & 1996) were in this area It is about time. But we have only scratched the surface. We still have to look at the more general functions of play within an emerging field possibly called "Interactive Studies"

The Globalization phenomenon is of primary interest to Interactive Studies. The dynamic balancing act of globalization is to nurture diversity while driving forces tend to homogenize economies and cultures. This calls for something like global antitrust structures: •Diversify like in the stock market. •Embrace and resist at the same time.

Openings (most recent entries appear first)

The 1994 Nobel prize in Economics went to John F. Nash, John C. Harsanyl, and Reinhard Selten, for their pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games.

The 1996 Nobel prize in Economics went to William Vickrey and James Mirrlees in the area of asymmetric information (how to make decisions based on incomplete or changing data).

Economist Paul Romer argues that ideas are what drive economic development. In his 1999 book Changing Tastes, he argues that ideas, tastes, preferences and values are neglected keys of economic analysis and issues that lead to a high quality of life.

Columnist Thomas Friedman's book The Lexus and the Olive Tree argues convincingly that globalization favors individualism and democratization. This constructive paradox is also at the heart of the internet. He points out that all depends on how well each of us manages the filters needed to protect our cultures, while getting the best out of everyone else's -- so in the end we have more choices, not less. This is in the best spirit of pragmatism.

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interactive art space      © 2000 by luis o. arata   contents | here | there | everywhere