  Stephen Hawking's recent concession that black holes do not irretrievably
eradicate information after all has garnered much attention. It is refreshing
to see the public focused, if just for a moment, on an important conundrum that
has fascinated theoretical physicists for three decades, and prompted much
conceptual progress. The scientific issues, however, remain much less settled
than Dr. Hawking's celebrated wager on the question.
