From: Sent: To: Subject: John Brockman 12/31/2010 6:23:47 PM Jeffrey Epstein [[email protected]] Edge Question 2011 - An Invitation Importance: High in the world treating what ear it doing "shes. Denis intellectual skyrockets of stunning brilliance. Nobody Dutton, ARTS & LETTERS DAILY THE WORLD QUESTION CENTER James Flynn has defined "shorthand abstractions" (or "SHA's") as concepts drawn from science that have become part of dom samplage and make people smarter by providing widely applicable templates ("market", aparactión is available as a single cognitive chunk which can be used as an element in thinking and "naturalistic fallacy, a few of his examples). His idea is that the debate. The Edge Question 2011 WHAT SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT WOULD IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S COGNITIVE TOOLKIT? The term 'scientific"is to be understood in a broad sense as the most reliable way of gaining knowledge whether it be the human spirit, the role of great people in history, or the structure of about anythintific concept" may come from philosophy, logic, economics, jurisprudence, or other analytic enterprises, as long as it is a rigorous conceptual tool that may be summed up succinctly (or "in a phrase") but has broad application to understanding the world. [Thanks to Steven Pinker for suggesting this year's EDGE Question and to Daniel Kahneman for advice on its presentation.] In Memoriam DENIS DUTTON 1944-2010 Last year, the 2010 EDGE Question, "How Is The Internet Changing The Way You Think?" (http://www.edge.org/q2010/q10_index.html), generated 172 essays (132,000 words) and received global press attention. To date, the following have already responded to the 2011 EDGE Question: Clifford Pickover, Rudy Robert Provine, Nassim N. Taleb, PERMALINK: http://www.edge.org/q2011/q11_index.html user id: edge password: q2011 (all lower case - password-protected until publication) SUBMITTING ESSAYS: Email as text or attached word file to me. DUE DATE: 8pm, Wednesday, January 12th PUBLICATION DATE: Midnight, Thursday, January 13th PRESS EMBARGO: Until publication. Do not cite or circulate. EDITORIAL MARCHING ORDERS Say something new, true, and interesting, based on your own experience, in 1,000 words or less. Email contributions to me. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029901

editorials, opeds, stand alone piece don respond to the seces othe No anecdotes about spouses, significant others, kids, family pets. Write a contributors already posted. Go deeper than the news. Tell me something I don't know. This is not a purely scientific question: this is question about our culture and ourselves. The ideas we present on Edge can offer readers and the wider public a new set of metaphors to describe ourselves, our minds, the way we think, the world, and all of the things we know in it. Be imaginative, compelling, inspiring. Tell a great story. Make an argument that makes a difference. Amaze and delight. surprise us! I look forward to hearing from you. Happy New Year! Sincerely, John Brockman Editor & Publisher The EDGE Question in the News: "Deliciously creative... the variety astonishes... intellectual skyrockets of stunning brilliance. in the world is doing what Edge is doing." Nobody ARTS & LETTERS • "Fantastically stimulating...It's like the crack cocaine of the thinking world.... Once you start, you can't stop thinking about that question." BB of intellectuals deep and ambitious questions. se breathtaking in scope." "A stellar cast of responses. "NEW SCIENTIST • Brilliant ""SEED • "Bold, often thrilling, captivating NEWS-OBSERVER • fascinating breadth of their visions of the future is revealed the discussion website edge.com, which has asked some of the world's finest mind 'What will change everything?'" • "Edge: brilliant, already experienced navigating the web pages of edge.org, is not only brilliant, essential and addictive. The result of this ambitious venturebut addictive. for those who have interprets, it interrogates, it provokes. Each text can be a world in itself. PUBLICO (LISBON) --COVER confessions and anecdotes, an intellectual treasure trove. • Best three or enlightening reading you can do for the new year. Read it now." SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE • "The splendidly enlightened Edge website (www.edge.org) has rounded off each year of inter-disciplinary debate by asking its heavy-hitting contributors to answer one question. I strongly recommend a visit." "A great event in the Anglo-Saxon culture. " EL MUNDO • "As fascinating and weighty as one would imagine." THE INDEPENDENT • "They are the intellectual elite, the brains the rest of us rely on to make sense of the universe and answer the big questions. But in a refreshing show of new year humility, the world's best thinkers have admitted that from time to time even they are forced to change " THE GUARDIAN • "Praised by everyone from the Guardian Prospect magazine, wired, the New and BBC Radio 4, Edge is an online collective of deep thinkers. Their contributors aren't on the frontier, they are the frontier." "A selection of the most explosive ideas SUNDAY HERALD • "Uplifting ..enthralling. MAIL ON SUNDAY • "If you think the web is full of trivial rubbish, you will find the intellectual badinage of edge.org to be a blessed counterpoint." THE ...fascinating and provocative reading.' -- THE GUARDIAN • " ... reads like an intriguing dinner " -- DISCOVER • "Fantastically stimulating...It's like BBC RADIO 4 once you start, you can't stop thinking about that question." and chilling. "Wonderful reading. THE TIMES university in the world. LETTERS DAILY "Audacious and stimulating.' 'Brilliant! Stimulating reading for anyone seeking a glimpse into the next decade." THE SUNDAY TIMES • "A fire of a provocative and fascinating thesis.' HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029902