Why some scientific ideas must die [1]

Why some scientific ideas must die [2]

Are there scientific ideas that have become too old and are actually blocking progress instead of enabling it? According to John Brockman—publisher of the world's smartest website Edge.org—there are. So he challenged the greatest scientists, artists and philosophers to answer the question: "What scientific idea needs to be retired in order to make room for new ideas to advance?" The answers he put into a book of 175 essays that he called "This Idea Must Die" [3]. Lawrence Pollard has been speaking to John Brockman for Newsday on the BBC World Service. (Listen here) [2]

[Newsday is the world's biggest radio breakfast show, carried on the BBC World Service network, the world's largest international broadcaster, reaching 188 million people a week.]