It is an honour to celebrate the Elements series on the occasion of its arrival at that magic number of 2000.

Academic books of the standard kind should be loved, of course. Sometimes they are long, and sometimes they are not so long; and if they come from Cambridge University Press, they are likely to be terrific. Journal articles may not be quite so easy to love, but they are easy to admire. In the best places, they are likely to be short and tight, and they might be very short indeed. They make a contribution, and sometimes a large one.

Books in the Elements series are easy to love and easy to admire. They are not so long, and they make a large contribution. Sometimes they work as general summaries and superb, clear introductions to complex and unruly topics. Sometimes they make original contributions and show people something that had never been seen before. Sometimes they do both. I could mention many in the Elements series, but I am thinking in particular of The Socialist Calculation Debate, by Peter Boettke, Rosolino A. Candela, and Tegan Lindstrom Truitt, which is at once eye-opening and authoritative. It tells us a great deal about a debate that is central to modern economics. It should also inform current debates about artificial intelligence and its limits.

My own contribution, Behavioral Science and Public Policy, was a great pleasure to produce, not least because of a truly extraordinary editorial process. Peer review can be challenging; it can also be rewarding. In this case, it was both. The editors saw what was not terrible in my draft(s) and also what needed more attention, help and improvement. I forgive them, and I thank them. They made the book better in a thousand and one ways.

The Elements series is an international treasure. In a way, it’s a whole world. A standing ovation to all those who have it possible.