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QUESTIONS FOR PETER WATSON
What's the Big Idea?
Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON
The author of a history of ideas talks about what counts as an idea, his idea of bad ideas (monotheism, Freudianism) and why no one ever has a great idea in the middle of the night.

ESSAY
War-Mood Metrics
By NOAH FELDMAN
Is today's home-front pessimism about Iraq any more rational than yesterday's optimism?

FREAKONOMICS
The Economy of Desire
By STEPHEN J. DUBNER and STEVEN D. LEVITT
Can fear of AIDS change sexual preference?

CONSUMED
Mass-Produced Individuality
By ROB WALKER
How consumers make distinctive products without actually making anything.

The Ethicist
By RANDY COHEN
• Forum: You're the Ethicist

On Language
By WILLIAM SAFIRE
• More Magazine Columns

Tracy Della Vecchia on her site, marineparents.com — and having a son at war.
Audio Slide Show | Article

Nicolai Ourousoff on preserving Moscow's modernist architecture.
Audio Slide Show | Article

Peter Maass on the Iraqi commandos, with photographs by Gilles Peress.
Audio & Photos | Article

PORTFOLIOS
Illusions Backstage, by Abelardo Morell
Portfolio | About the Photographs
• More Portfolios

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
In the Shadow of the No. 7 Line, by Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao
Slide Show | About the Photographs
• The Runners-Up

This issue marks the fifth anniversary of what is becoming a venerable tradition at the magazine: The Year in Ideas. Go to Introduction • Forum:: Which idea from this issue is your favorite? Accredited Bliss Anti-Paparazzi Flash, The Anti-Rape Condom, The Branding Nations Cartoon Empathy Celebrity Teeth Cobblestones are Good for You Collapsing the Distribution Window Consensual Interruptions Conservative Blogs are More Effective Dialing Under the Influence Do-It-Yourself Cartography Dolphin Culture Econophysics Embryo Adoption Ergomorphic Footwear Fair Employment Mark, The False-Memory Diet, The Fleeting Relationship, The Folksonomy Forehead Billboards Gastronomic Reversals Genetic Theory of Harry Potter, The Global Savings Glut, The His-and-Her TV, The Hollywood-Style Documentary, The Hypomanic American, The Infrared Pet Dry Room, The In Vitro Meat Juvenile Cynics Laptop That Will Save the World, The Localized Food Aid Making Global Warming Work for You Medical Maggots Microblindness Monkey Pay-Per-View National Smiles Open-Source Reporting Parking Meters That Don't Give You a Break Playoff Paradigm, The Pleistocene Rewilding Porn Suffix, The Preventing Suicide Bombing Readable Medicine Bottle, The Republican Elitism Robot Jockeys Runaway Alarm Clock, The Scientific Free-Throw Distraction Seeing With Your Ears Self-Fulfilling Trade Rumor, The Serialized Pop Song, The Sitcom Loyalty Oath, The Solar Sailing Sonic Gunman Locator, The Splogs Stash Rocket, The Stoic Redheads Stream-of-Consciousness Newspaper, The Subadolescent Queen Bees Suburban Loft, The Synesthetic Cookbook, The Taxonomy Auctions "The Crawl" Makes You Stupid Toothbrush That Sings, The Totally Religious, Absolutely Democratic Constitution, The Touch Screens That Touch Back Trial-Transcript Dramaturgy Trust Spray Two-Dimensional Food Uneavesdroppable Phone Conversation, The Urine-Powered Battery, The Video Podcasts Why Popcorn Doesn't Pop Worldwide Flat Taxes Yawn Contagion Yoo Presidency, The Zero-Emissions S.U.V., The Zombie Dogs Accredited Bliss Forehead Billboards Medical Maggots Subadolescent Queen Bees Yawn Contagion

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