Edge question for 2008: What have you changed your mind about? Why?

John Brockman's Edge question for 2008 is now out: What have you changed your mind about? Why?

The Edge Annual Question -- 2008

When thinking changes your mind, that's philosophy.
When God changes your mind, that's faith.
When facts change your mind, that's science.

WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT? WHY?

Science is based on evidence. What happens when the data change? How have scientific findings or arguments changed your mind?"

165 contributors; 112,600 words

That's right, there are 165 responses to the question.

Just a few of the responses that I have glanced at so far:

• Nassim Taleb (the Black Swan guy): The Irrelevance of "Probability"
• Danny Hillis: Try the Experiment Yourself
• David Gelernter: Users Are Not Reactionary After All
• Kai Krause: Software is merely a Performance Art
• Jaron Lanier: Virtual reality for the treatment of psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder
• Tim O'Reilly: Skeptical of the term "social software"
• Clay Shirky: Compatibility of Religion and Science

Personally, I do not have much of an answer to this question yet, even after reading these few responses. In general, my thinking evolves incrementally over time. I am having trouble recalling very many "Aha!" moments where I had a clear change of mind rather than that I had evolved a somewhat different perspective as I gradually incorporated new information into my thinking. Something to think about. And that is the whole point of Edge questions.

-- Jack Krupansky