1. Cultures as a whole can figure out the solutions to problems that are, in principle, beyond the capacity of any single individual to solve. We need to think of our brains not just as individual organs sitting in our heads, but as part of an extended network, nodes in a massive "collective brain." Innovations, large or small, do not require heroic geniuses any more than your thoughts hinge on a particular neuron. A neurologist diagnoses and treats conditions that might impact everything from your ability to walk and talk, to your ability to smell. Rather, just as thoughts are an emergent property of neurons firing in our neural networks, innovations arise as an emergent consequence of our species' applied within our societies and social networks. Our societies and social networks act as collective brains.

2. It would seem natural to think that we should not be accountable for actions we do not take or even actively avoid. However, this line of reasoning only works up to a point. To illustrate this dynamic, consider the case of vaccination, where many parents are reluctant to vaccinate their children even in the face of statistics that show a child is more likery to die from a disease than potential side effects of the injection. In technical terms, the parents are not being fully rational. As the season draws near, more individuals are willing to get vaccinated against the flu in order to prevent falling ill. We are naturally disposed to think that our intervention is more morally blameworthy than doing nothing and letting things happen.

3. The recent plateau of ebook sales raises questions regarding the format's influence on the future of the book industry. It could be the case that the recent decline in demand is an indication that ebooks are going through a chasm in growth. To read an ebook, you can use an ebook reader, smartphone, tablet or PC: no matter what variant you choose, it's small and lightweight. While the recent downturn in the market share of ebooks could simply suggest that the format is 'crossing the chasm' (that is to say, transitioning from a niche product to the mainstream), there is also the possibility that readers are realising that 'traditional' printed book formats offer a unique consumption experience that digital counterparts cannot match. If this was found to be the case, one could argue that ebooks may be no more than a passing fad, destined to fade into obscurity in a manner similar to the Betamax video cassette or the Sony MiniDisc player.

4. Experimental philosophers shared a common rhetoric, based on the praise of experiments and the criticism of hypotheses and speculations. But their most important common trait lies in their views on how we can acquire and expand our knowledge of nature. Experimental philosophers held that, before firmly committing oneself to any substantive claims or theories of the natural world, one should gather extensive empirical information by means of experiments and observations. Experiences (i.e. experiments and observations) reported by others must be critically evaluated, and if possible, their experiments must be replicated. In an experiment, one variable is manipulated and the responses are measured with all the other variables held constant. Only once this process of fact gathering and checking is nearing completion will we be entitled to commit firmly to substantive claims or theories and only insofar as they are warranted by experiments and observations.