HOUSE OVERSIGHT 029902 As usual, no politics ("Democrat" "Republican") or politicians ("Obama" "Bush" "Clinton" "Pali n', etc.), editorials, opeds, opinion pieces, flippancy. No ad hominem comments. No self-promotion: referencing your books, papers, courses, "selling from the stage", pushing your well-known agenda. No footnotes or hyperlink: stay on the page. No anecdotes about spouses, significant others, kids, family pets. Write a stand-alone piece: don't respond to the pieces of other 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, exciting, 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. Nobody in the world is doing what Edge is doing." 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." BBC RADIO 4 • "Big, deep and ambitious questions... breathtaking in scope." NEW SCIENTIST • "A stellar cast of intellectuals ... a stunning array of responses."NEW SCIENTIST • Brilliant ... captivating ... overwhelming."SEED • "Bold, often thrilling, sometimes chilling, answers." NEWS-OBSERVER • "The fascinating breadth of their visions of the future is revealed today by the discussion website edge.com, which has asked some of the world's finest mind the question: 'What will change everything?'" THE TIMES • "Edge: brilliant, e