It'd be nice if we could develop some semi-formal process by which we'd collaboratively determine where the evidence points for a certain question.
Along these lines I still maintain the most useful exercise I ever engaged in here was the the Amanda Knox survey. We came at an issue which we had no better knowledge of than the general public. Nor was there any reason to expect us to agree- the issue bore no connection to the beliefs we share mostly as a result of self-selection (materialism, atheism). We independently looked at the evidence and mostly came up with similar results and then kept talking until nearly all disagreements were resolved. It still strikes me as a stunning example of how success...
Are there any areas of study that you feel are underrepresented here, and would be interesting and useful to lesswrongers?
I feel some topics are getting old (Omega, drama about moderation policy, a newcomer telling us our lack of admiration for his ideas is proof of groupthink, Friendly AI, Cryonics, Epistemic vs. Instrumental Rationality, lamenting how we're a bunch of self-centered nerds, etc. ...), and with a bit of luck, we might have some lurkers that are knowledgeable about interesting areas, and didn't think they could contribute.
Please stick to one topic per comment, so that highly-upvoted topics stand out more clearly.