On the dubious date of 1 April 1971, after two and a half years of study, I successfully defended my dissertation in economics. Although the 2000–01 academic year marks my thirtieth year of teaching economics since the fall of 1970, I am no less enthusiastic about the subject. To impart my excitement about economics to a fresh group of students is a recurring challenge that I confront most fall semesters as I rush to my large 8 a.m. section of economic principles on the other side of campus. It must be my perverse sense of humor, or else self-punishment, that I would place before myself the supreme challenge of interesting 250–300 students in a large, overheated lecture theater with its uncomfortable seats at such an ungodly hour. As I walk down the aisle to a sea of whispers as the students give me the once-over, I ask myself if I am prepared for this. At the front of the room, I pull up my blue jeans and take a deep breath. I attach the remote microphone to my shirt, switch on the infrared receiver, remove the laser pointer from my pocket, and then my eyes scan the youthful faces before me. Every semester it is the same story: of the 300 or so pairs of eyes, no pair is looking at the same spot, and no pair is looking at me – not a one! From this nadir, I must accomplish my task – to somehow get these students to understand and appreciate the power, importance, and prevalence of economic concepts in the modern-day society that we inhabit.