What better time than late December to pause for a retrospective
look at the ideas that mattered over the past year?  In this era
of specialization, no one person is qualified to offer a
definitive list of this kind. So think of what follows as a
proposition to ponder: all that follows is either going to
reshape our world, or would reshape it if only the idea in
question were given its due.  Take to the comments section to
offer ideas that ought to appear on lists like this one.