EFTA02547013.pdf

From: John Brockman .O Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2011 2:57 AM To: jeffrey epstein Subject: Re: The Edge Annual Question 2012 - Invitation (Confidential) Keep it coming. JB On Dec 14, 2011, at 3:47 PM, jeffrey epstein wrote: > Mathematics ideals are universal truths , biology is intrinsically > rased in deception . Predators in search of free energy , would be > able =o decipher and consume , if it weren't couched in a multi > layered =ncrypted form . Even self deception acts as a defensive > strategy. More =ater > Sorry for all the typos .Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 14, 2011, at 3:05 PM, John Brockman wrote: »To: Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin. Hubert Burda, Steve Case. » =ohn Doerr, Jeffrey Epstein, Tony Fadell, Bill Gates, Danny Hillis, » Maja =offman, Bill Joy, Salar Kamangar, Dean Kamen, Vinod Khosla, » Marissa =ayer, Kary Mullis Elon Musk, Nathan Myhrvold, Pierre » Omidyar, Larry =age, Sean Parker, Jean Pigozzi, Nick Pritzker, » Miuccia Prada, Eric =chmidt, Jacqui Safra, Ricardo Salinas Pilego, » Charles Simonyi, Jeff =koll, Craig Venter, Jimmy Wales, Evan » Williams, Mark Zuckerberg » Re: The EDGE Annual Question 2012 - Invitation to participate » In the summer of 2009, in a talk at the Bristol (UK) Festival of =deas, Freeman Dyson articulated a vision for the future. He referenced =The Age Of Wonder", by Richard Holmes, in which the first Romantic Age =escribed by Holmes was centered on chemistry and poetry, while Dyson =ointed out that this new age is dominated by computational biology. Its =eaders, he noted, include "biology wizards" Kary Mullis, Craig Venter, =edical engineer Dean Kamen; and "computer wizards" Larry Page and =ergey Brin, and Charles Simonyi. He pointed out that the nexus for this =ntellectual activity — the Lunar Society for the 21st century — is =entered around the activities of EDGE. » Dyson continued to articulate his vision for a new age of biology in = related review inNew York Review of Books in which he wrote: "...a new =eneration of artists, writing genomes as fluently as Blake and Byron =rote verses, might create an abundance of new flowers and fruit and =rees and birds to enrich the ecology of our planet. Most of these =rtists would be amateurs, but they would be in close touch with =cience, like the poets of the earlier Age of Wonder. The new Age of =onder might bring together wealthy entrepreneurs like Venter and Kamen =.. and a worldwide community of gardeners and farmers and breeders, rorking together to make the planet beautiful as well as fertile, =ospitable to hummingbirds as well as to humans." » So, along these lines, who can best articulate the important issues » =uestions we face today than the very people who are, through their » =deas and entrepreneurial zeal, changing the very nature of reality EFTA_R1_01701197 EFTA02547013 » =tself. Here's the 2012 Annual Question. Before sending it out widely » to =he list, it's useful to seed the project with a dozen or so » interesting =esponses to provide examples and set a high bar. Even » better, to =nspire. How about it?? Hope to hear from you. JB >> THE WORLD QUESTION CENTER • 2012: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DEEP, ELEGANT, OR BEAUTIFUL =XPLANATION? » =ttp://edge.oreannual-question/what-is-your-favorite-deep-elegant-or » -beau=iful-explanation&view=draft >> >> » PRESS EMBARGO UNTIL PUBLICATION (12am EST, Sunday, January 15th). DO » =OT CITE OR CIRCULATE » - » "We'd certainly be better off if everyone sampled the fabulous EDGE =ymposium, which, like the best in science, is modest and daring all at =nce." » — David Brooks, THE NEW YORK TIMES » - » » - » Scientists' greatest pleasure comes from theories that derive the =olution to some deep puzzle from a small set of simple principles in a =urprising way. These explanations are called "beautiful" or "elegant". =istorical examples are Kepler's explanation of complex planetary =otions as simple ellipses, Bohr's explanation of the periodic table of =he elements in terms of electron shells, and Watson and Crick's double =elix. Einstein famously said that he did not need experimental =onfirmation of his general theory of relativity because it "was so =eautiful it had to be true." The EDGE Question 2012 • WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE DEEP, ELEGANT, OR BEAUTIFUL =XPLANATION? » Since this question is about explanation, answers may embrace =cientific thinking in the broadest sense: as the most reliable way of =aining knowledge about anything, including other fields of inquiry such =s philosophy, mathematics, economics, history, political theory, =iterary theory, or the human spirit. The only requirement is that some =imple and non-obvious idea explain some diverse and complicated set of =henomena. » [Thanks to Steven Pinker for suggesting this year's EDGE Question and » =o Stewart Brand, Kevin Kelly, and George Dyson for their ongoing » advice =nd support.) >> >> - >> 2 EFTA_R1_01701198 EFTA02547014 » - » » "Open-minded, free ranging, intellectually playful ... an unadorned =leasure in curiosity, a collective expression of wonder at the living =nd inanimate world ... an ongoing and thrilling colloquium." >> » —Ian McEwan in THE TELEGRAPH >>- » »suBmiTTING ESSAYS: Email as text or attached Word file to me » DUE DATE: 5pm, Thursday, January 12th » PUBLICATION DATE: 12am EST, Sunday, January 15th » URL: Essays will be posted at this draft URL (not visible to search =ngines). Please keep confidential. » PRESS EMBARGO: Until publication. Do not cite or circulate. » - » - » EDITORIAL MARCHING ORDERS » Of course, your own explanations are deep, elegant, and beautiful. =ut give it a rest for this exercise and please avoid citing your own =heory, idea, explanation. Also, think of examples that are not =ompletely obvious—we don't want a hundred people nominating natural =election, or relativity, or Turing machines. >> » Say something new, true, and interesting based on your own =xperience, in 1,000 words or less. » Go deeper than the news. Tell us something we don't know. This is not = purely scientific question: this is question about our culture and =urselves. The ideas we present on EDGE can offer a new set of metaphors =o describe ourselves, our minds, the way we think, the world, and all =f the things we know in it. » As usual, no politics ("Democrat" "Republican") or politicians ="Obama" "Romney" "Clinton" "Gingrich", etc.). No editorials, Op-eds, =pinion pieces, flippancy. No ad hominem comments. No self-promotion: no =eferencing your books, papers, courses. No "selling from the stage", =ushing your well-known agenda. No footnotes, credits, or hyperlinks in =he text: stay on the page. No anecdotes about spouses, significant =thers, kids, family pets. Write a stand-alone piece: don't respond to =he pieces of other contributors already posted. » This is the annual opportunity for the EDGE community to give =omething back, to provide an important public service, to make a =tatement by presenting uncompromisingly sophisticated science-minded =hinking to a wide global audience. Be imaginative, exciting, =ompelling, inspiring. Tell a great story. Make an argument that makes a =ifference. Amaze and delight. Surprise us! >> >> - » - » » TO THE EDGE PRESS LIST >> 3 EFTA_R1_01701199 EFTA02547015 » Last year's EDGE Question ("What Scientific Concept Would Improve » =verybody's Cognitive Toolkit?" - http://goo.gl/bEzNP - generated 165 » =ssays (115,000 words) and received global press attention - » =ttp://goo.gl/Ygxs7 » For some background on how the EDGE Annual Questions comes together, » =heck out "A Big Question", an article I wrote for the Nieman Foundation =n 2010 - http://goo.gl/udnZg We expect at least as many contributions this year. Please feel free =se up to 1,500 words of text (gratis) without further permission, =rovided that: » (a) EDGE and its URL (www.edge.org) are mentioned in the first » =aragraph of your print and online piece; and » (b) a hyperlink to the EDGE home page (http://www.edge.org) is =rovided in the first paragraph of your online edition. » Edge Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit private operating foundation =nder Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. » Happy New Year! » John Brockman » Editor & Publisher » - » It's ever more delectable that EDGE-the network of prominent =cientists and intellectuals— has worked against the reciprocal =gnorance of literary cultures and sciences of each other. Successfully. =f you take the algorithms developed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, =hich measure the value of links, EDGE'S website ranks seven on a global =cale of ten. THE NEW YORK TIMES ranks nine, eBay at eight. » — SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG » - >> <?xml version=.0" encoding=TF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version=.0"> <dict> <key>conversation-id</key> <integer>206152</integer> <key>date-last-viewed</key> <integer>0</integer> <key>date-received</key> 4 EFTA_R1_01701200 EFTA02547016  <Integer>1323917838</integer> <key>flags</key> <integer>8590195713</integer> <key>gmail-label-ids</key> <array> <integer>2</integer> </array> <key>remote-id</key> <string>195913</string> </dict> </plist> 5 EFTA_R1_01701201 EFTA02547017