Best movies? Music? Look elsewhere. Here's the <i>real</i> list to help digest the year gone by
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/01/09/notes010908.DTL&nl=fixFormer Taliban fighter now a humble teacher to young girls. A new, market-ready LED light bulb that uses 90 percent less energy than regular bulbs and lasts 35 years. Organic agriculture actually can feed the world. A zero-emissions, zero-combustion car engine that runs on compressed air. A damn fine, glowing list from Ode Magazine, the best little antidote to media nastiness you're not reading, but should be.
Honorable mention: It's not a Top 10 list. It's not even a top 100. It has nothing to do with fashion or trends or politics or the year's coolest iPod accessories. It is intellectual hotbed Edge.org's annual question, this time a profound doozy: "What have you changed your mind about, and why?"
One hundred sixty-three of the world's finest scientists of all kinds and caliber respond with some of the most insightful, humbling, fascinating confessions and anecdotes, an intellectual treasure trove of proofs that flip-flopping is a very good thing indeed, especially when informed/inspired by facts and shot through with personal experience and laced with mystery and even a little divine insight. Best three or four hours of intense, enlightening reading you can do for the new year. Read it. Read it now.
And then, flip it over and answer the same question for yourself. ...