The following is an excerpt from an article in Portrait, an online magazine (link below)
(Interviewer is Yang Lu)
https://www.brockmanmedia.com/portraitmagazine-jan2018-global30
B: Richard Dawkins' “meme” became a meme, known far beyond the scientific conversation in which it was coined. It’s one of a handful of scientific ideas that have entered the general culture, helping to clarify and inspire. This question recognizes that there were many terms that clarify and inspire serious thinking.
On the other hand, not everyone likes the idea of spreading scientific understanding. Remember what the Bishop of Birmingham’s wife is reputed to have said about Darwin’s claim that human beings are descended from monkeys: "My dear, let us hope it is not true, but, if it is true, let us hope it will not become generally known."
P: What’s your answer about this question?
B: I have no answers. The question is the answer. Or, a better way of putting this: I am the guy who stands at the back of the theatre and turns the lights on and off.
P: What have you learned from this particular question?
B: Some of the most interesting topics included: Mysterianism (Nicholas G. Carr), Confirmation Bias (Brian Eno), Affordances (Daniel C. Dennett), Common Sense (Jared Diamond), Deliberate Ignorance (Gerd Gigerenzer), Intellectual Honesty (Sam Harris), The Neural Code (John Horgan), Neurodiversity (Joi Ito), The Anthropocene (Jennifer Jacquet), Premature Optimization (Kevin Kelly), Naïve Realism (Matthew D. Lieberman), Navier-Stokes Equations (Ian McEwan), The Second Law of Thermodynamics (Steven Pinker), Effective Theory (Lisa Randall), Haldane's Rule of the Right Size (Paul Saffo), Epsilon (Victoria Stodden), Coalitional Instincts (John Tooby), Embodied Thinking (Barbara Tversky).
