Monthly Archives: August 2013

Respectful Insolence on the anti-vaxers; the healthcare crisis

Posted on Wednesday 28 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Orac’s Respectful Insolence blog explores the motivations of anti-vaxers, via the recent news of the Texas church whose anti-vaccination advice resulted in an outbreak of measles (widely reported in the past few days). Measles outbreaks, religion, and the reality of … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Science | Comments Off on Respectful Insolence on the anti-vaxers; the healthcare crisis

Plinks: Coyne responds to Frank; Religion becoming obsolete?; Dawkins’ response

Posted on Tuesday 27 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Jerry Coyne responds to Adam Frank’s op-ed piece in NYT last week about science illiteracy. Coyne doesn’t dispute Frank’s points, so much as his recommendations. But after reading it, I was disappointed, for although Frank’s piece is pro-science, it’s merely … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Science | Comments Off on Plinks: Coyne responds to Frank; Religion becoming obsolete?; Dawkins’ response

An Irish Poem

Posted on Tuesday 27 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

As a follow-up to my two posts of photos from Ireland. At a lovely Dublin bookshop called Hodges Figgis [no website of their own, but apparently associated with Waterstones], I bought a copy of Joyce’s DUBLINERS and a slim volume … Continue reading →

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More Ireland Pics

Posted on Saturday 24 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

From Yeong’s iPhone. We were staying at the Conrad Hilton, which is just south of St. Stephen’s Green, as on this map. St. Stephen’s Green, the Central Park of Dublin, was just a short walk from our hotel. Wikipedia has … Continue reading →

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Dublin Notes and Photos

Posted on Saturday 24 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Only four months late, here are some notes and observations I had about our trip to Dublin in late April. Yeong had a business conference for three days, Tuesday to Thursday. We flew in the previous weekend, and stayed through … Continue reading →

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Stuff Christian Culture Likes

Posted on Friday 23 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/ I happened upon this site recently, and was compelled to click through the 80 or so pages — there are now 234 posts, and only three posts per page, with no easy way to skim or search through all … Continue reading →

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Plinks: Adam Frank, PZ Myers, Hendrik Hertzberg

Posted on Thursday 22 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Just after yesterday’s post about Donald Prothero, on “The Serious Consequences of Science Illiteracy”, comes this op-ed by scientist Adam Frank in the New York Times, which says pretty much the same thing…. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/opinion/welcome-to-the-age-of-denial.html The triumph of Western science led … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Quote at Length, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Plinks: Adam Frank, PZ Myers, Hendrik Hertzberg

How to Be a Successful Prophet: Applying The Jack Smith Rule

Posted on Wednesday 21 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Jack Smith was a long-time columnist for the Los Angeles Times — here’s his Wikipedia entry — who died in 1996. What I remember after all these years from his reign, as a long-time reader of the LA Times since … Continue reading →

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Donald Prothero on science illiteracy, the Dunning-Kruger effect

Posted on Wednesday 21 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Another interesting blogger I’ve run across is Donald Prothero, author of a recent book called Reality Check: How Science Deniers Threaten Our Future, and a contributor to Skepticblog. This post reads like an introduction to the theme of that book. … Continue reading →

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Plinks: Steven Pinker, Carl Zimmer, Anti-Intellect, History Chart, Weigel on Card

Posted on Monday 19 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

A collection of quotes from what I thought were interesting articles and posts and tweets, over the past week or more (I should post more often). (And actually, I’m saving a few for later posts.) Perhaps I will call posts … Continue reading →

Posted in Commonplace Book, Quote at Length, Science, Thinking | Comments Off on Plinks: Steven Pinker, Carl Zimmer, Anti-Intellect, History Chart, Weigel on Card