From: John Brockman Sent: Friday, December 31, 2010 6:24 PM To: Jeffrey Epstein Subject: Edge Question 2011 - An Invitation "Deliciously creative...the variety astonishes...intellectual skyrockets =f stunning brilliance. Nobody in the world is doing what Edge is =oing." Denis Dutton, ARTS & LETTERS DAILY THE WORLD QUESTION CENTER James Flynn has defined "shorthand abstractions" (or "SHA's") as =oncepts drawn from science that have become part of the language and =ake people smarter by providing widely applicable templates ("market", =placebo", "random sample," "naturalistic fallacy," are a few of his =xamples). His idea is that the abstraction is available as a single =ognitive chunk which can be used as an element in thinking and debate. The Edge Question 2011 WHAT SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT WOULD IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S COGNITIVE =OOLKIT? The term 'scientific"is to be understood in a broad sense as the most =eliable way of gaining knowledge about anything, whether it be the =uman spirit, the role of great people in history, or the structure of =NA. A "scientific concept" may come from philosophy, logic, economics, =urisprudence, or other analytic enterprises, as long as it is a =igorous conceptual tool that may be summed up succinctly (or "in a =hrase") but has broad application to understanding the world. (Thanks to Steven Pinker for suggesting this year's EDGE Question and to =aniel 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 =ou Think?" (http://www.edge.orgh2010/q10_index.html), generated 172 =ssays (132,000 words) and received global press attention. To date, the following have already responded to the 2011 EDGE Question: =lifford Pickover, Rudy Rucker,Sean Carroll, Gino Segre, Jason Zweig, =ylan Evans, Steven Pinker, Martin Seligman, Gerald Holton, Robert =rovine, Nassim N. Taleb, Roger Schank, George Dyson, Milford Wolpoff, =eorge Lak