Ebook: This idea must die: scientific theories that are blocking progress

Science advances by discovering new things and developing new ideas. Few truly new ideas are developed without abandoning old ones first. As theoretical physicist Max Planck (1858-1947) noted, "A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." In other words, science advances by a series of funerals. Why wait that long? Ideas change, and the times we live in change. Perhaps the biggest change today is the rate of change. In this spirit in 2014, John Brockman, bestselling editor of This Explains Everything, and publisher of Edge.org--"The world's smartest website" (The Guardian)--asked 175 of the world's most influential scientists, economists, artists, and philosophers: What scientific idea is ready for retirement? [so that science can advance]. The answers are as surprising as they are illuminating.  Read more...