Monthly Archives: September 2013

Gone with Inherit the Wind

Posted on Monday 30 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

The oddest thing about this post is, why would a community college think to schedule a performance of “Inherit the Wind” with involvement of a director and support by a religious college, Martin Luther College, in the first place? After … Continue reading →

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Is the Younger Generation Turning away from Organized Religion?

Posted on Saturday 28 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Skeptic Blog: http://www.skepticblog.org/2013/09/25/losing-our-religion/ We can all speculate about why younger generations are alienated from organized religion, and certainly there are many reasons. But knowing the current political trends in this country, we might suggest that one factor of great importance … Continue reading →

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Thoughts of a Thursday Afternoon: After the Apocalypse

Posted on Saturday 28 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Every human being starts from scratch: he or she comes equipped with a mind honed by evolution for survival, prone to superstitious, self-interested thinking for the same reason, but ill-equipped to accurately perceive reality, the reality that can be deduced … Continue reading →

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Motivated Reasoning and Religion

Posted on Saturday 28 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Applying motivated reasoning [or confirmation bias] to religion… http://www.salon.com/2013/09/27/why_are_so_many_christians_so_un_christian_partner/ As much as liberals would often wish it otherwise—and no matter how much conservative Christians may claim their beliefs all come from the Bible—the truth of the matter is there’s no … Continue reading →

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Odds and Ends, 23Sep13

Posted on Monday 23 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Scientific American has this Michael Shermer essay about struggling with motivated reasoning– http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-we-should-choose-science-over-beliefs Give him credit — he struggles with ideological convictions in the light of evidence, and changes his mind. But finds that others at a Libertarian conference are … Continue reading →

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Review of Cory Doctorow’s Homeland

Posted on Tuesday 17 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

I’d meant to write more reviews on this blog, so let me catch up with a review of a novel I read a few weeks ago – Cory Doctorow’s Homeland. I confess that after the longueurs of his novel Makers, … Continue reading →

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Law v. Science

Posted on Monday 16 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Nice essay by Jesse Bering — an excerpt from his forthcoming book — about ‘age of consent’ laws and their variation over time and across different countries, whose cutoffs range from 12 to 21. (And in olden times, some US … Continue reading →

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Matthew Shepard and confirmation bias

Posted on Monday 16 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

A new book about Matthew Shepard suggests the story of his murder was far more complex than the gay-bashing narrative that has been assumed. Turns out it can be seen as a prime example of confirmation bias, http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/09/16/challenging-the-myth-of-matthew-shepard/ Comparable, says … Continue reading →

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Sunday Links and Commentary, 15Sep13

Posted on Sunday 15 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Salon: Inside the conservative brain: What explains their wiring? Chris Mooney wrote a whole book on this subject (http://www.amazon.com/The-Republican-Brain-Science-Science/dp/1118094514), and it’s fascinating to wonder — setting aside precise partisan divides — to what extent different attitudes about the world are … Continue reading →

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Resource: The Dummy’s Guide to the One True God

Posted on Sunday 15 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Over the past couple years I’ve collected numerous links to interesting sites or posts, which I bookmark as ‘resources’ for future reference, and which perhaps I should add to my sidebar links on this blog. For now, this. Whenever I … Continue reading →

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