You know YouTube, right?

It’s pretty much your go-to place for videos of cats flushing toilets and sultry love letters to Barack Obama.

But it may also be a sign of the coming Renaissance.

That’s according to Patricia Martin, who says we’re members of, or at least witnesses to, the Renaissance Generation – RenGen for short.

Martin is a marketing consultant in Chicago, and the author of the new book RenGen: The Rise of the Cultural Consumer and What It Means to Your Business.

She says humanity is poised for a rebirth of culture and ideas a lot like the one in Europe back in the 16th century – when Da Vinci and Michaelangelo had their heyday.

According to Martin, the Roman Empire’s roads help fuel the Renaissance back then, and the internet is doing the job now.

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The Chicago Loop Alliance is hosting a book launch for Patricia Martin today at 5 at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

Reservations are required, but there are still a few spots available. For more information, click here.