The University of Houston will welcome acclaimed cognitive scientist, psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker to deliver the 2025 Farfel Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 30, at Cullen Performance Hall.
Pinker, the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People,” will deliver a thought-provoking lecture on how “common knowledge” shapes money, power, relationships and society itself — revealing the hidden logic behind cooperation, conflict and the paradoxes of human behavior.
- What: 2025 Farfel Lecture Series featuring Steven Pinker
- When: Thursday, Oct. 30 — Doors open at 6 p.m., lecture begins at 7 p.m.
- Where: Cullen Performance Hall, 4300 University Drive, Houston, TX 77004
- Click here for more details and to register for free tickets.
“The Farfel Lecture series reflects UH’s commitment to engage bold thinkers and present ideas that are shaping the future of knowledge, society and culture,” said Heidi Appel, dean of the Honors College at UH. “Steven Pinker’s work exemplifies the power of research and reasoning to illuminate the human experience and help us better understand one another.”
Pinker’s lecture coincides with the release of his latest book, “When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life.” In it, Pinker explores the power of common knowledge — not just what we know, but what we know others know we know. From viral outrage and diplomatic doublespeak to financial panics and first-date awkwardness, Pinker reveals why shared awareness is the basis of social relationships.
“So, if common knowledge is so essential to human affairs, how do we do it without our heads exploding? The answer is that we have a conceptual metaphor, or an image that captures the idea without going through the layers upon layers of mentalizing,” Pinker explained in a recent interview with the Harvard Gazette. “‘It’s out there’ is the best everyday-language equivalent to common knowledge that I know of. Also, ‘It was in your face.’ Or ‘the elephant in the room,’ for common knowledge that we publicly deny.”
Drawing from pop culture, psychology and game theory, Pinker illustrates how common knowledge underpins everything from viral memes and euphemisms to social media outrage and the unspoken rules of human connection.
Established in 1969, the Farfel Lecture Series honors those who envision the future for beneficial change. It recognizes longtime UH System Regent Aaron Farfel, whose enduring legacy of service and support continues to shape the University of Houston.
Among the previously featured lecturers are Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author David McCullough, journalist and author Walter Isaacson, Nobel Laureate James D. Watson, noted paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, inventor and futurist Raymond Kurzweil, and genomics expert J. Craig Venter.