There’s something ironic about seeing a promotion for John Brockman’s latest collection of science musings, This Idea Must Die [5], right under his Edge site’s featured conversation, Death is Optional [6].

Because a lot of ideas don’t die. They recede for a while–like Lamarck’s notion of the inheritance of acquired traits–and then insinuate their way back into scientific consciousness.

But that’s a minor complaint. Brockman’s new anthology, in which he asks a host of leading intellectuals what ideas should be consigned to the dustbin, is engaging. ...