Why do we find it so difficult to keep opposing ideas alive in the same mind?
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To quote the late great Christopher Hitchens in introducing his autobiography, Hitch-22, “The most intense wars are civil wars, just as the most vivid and rending personal conflicts are internal ones, and what I hope to do now is give some idea of what it is like to fight on two fronts at once, to try and keep opposing ideas alive in the same mind, even occasionally to show two faces at the same time.” From the personal to the political, and the intersection of the two, why do we find it so difficult to keep opposing ideas alive in the same mind?

Asked by:
Andrew Legg

What's more important: answers, or questions? Are the ‘big’ questions - life, the universe, everything - more important than ‘little’ ones? Does a good question provoke debate or laughter, lead to certain answers or create reflective pause? Can it change laws, minds or lives? Are questions the best answers?

The Interrobang – a new festival from the Wheeler Centre – is looking for the best questions in the world.

Ask your questions and vote on others, then join us on 27 – 28 November for a feast of frequently unanswered questions – as we present your most controversial, revealing, funny and insightful ideas to a 25-strong Brains Trust of the world’s most inquisitive thinkers.

So pose your burning questions. We’ll build this festival on your curiosity, so brace yourself – and wonder hard.