Monthly Archives: August 2015

Rereading Isaac Asimov, part 1

Posted on Friday 28 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

In the past three weeks I’ve read or reread (mostly reread, after decades) some 50 short stories by Isaac Asimov — not yet all of his most notable stories, by criteria of awards or number of reprints or critical discussions, … Continue reading →

Posted in Isaac Asimov, science fiction | Comments Off on Rereading Isaac Asimov, part 1

Links and Comments: Hand-Picked Truths and Moral Progress

Posted on Wednesday 26 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

First, taking the high road, an op-ed by NYT science writer George Johnson, in yesterday’s NYT Science section: The Widening World of Hand-Picked Truths. (The title in print was “The Gradual Extinction of Accepted Truths”.) This speaks to the increasing … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Morality, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Hand-Picked Truths and Moral Progress

Links and Comments: David Barton; Jeffrey Tayler

Posted on Tuesday 25 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Salon calls out phony baloney historian David Barton: Meet the Tea Party’s evangelical quack: David Barton is Glenn Beck’s favorite “historian” The larger issue here, of course, is about *narrative*: about how people need to adjust and retell history in … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: David Barton; Jeffrey Tayler

Links and Comments: Dated and Offensive SF; Puppygate summaries

Posted on Tuesday 25 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Will get back to posting about rereading Isaac Asimov shortly, but an initial comment I have is how embarrassing Asimov’s prose of the early 1940s was. I suppose it was the style of the era, and Asimov did grow out … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Progress, Morality, science fiction | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Dated and Offensive SF; Puppygate summaries

Links and Comments: Reason; Morality; Wesleyan; Timeline; The Onion; Jeffrey Tayler

Posted on Friday 21 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Today, a collection of posts I’ve not read in detail, or do not have time to comment upon in detail, but wish to save for future reference. Science on Religon: Connor Wood: Reason™ is not going to save the world … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Morality, Science, science fiction | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Reason; Morality; Wesleyan; Timeline; The Onion; Jeffrey Tayler

The Methodical, Cheerful, Bluntness of Isaac Asimov

Posted on Wednesday 19 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

I switched gears a couple weeks ago, after reading several recent (2014 and 2015) novels, to spend some time revisiting one of the 20th century’s most acclaimed science fiction authors, Isaac Asimov. It’s hard to tell, at this point about … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Book Notes, Conservative Resistance, Isaac Asimov, Personal history, Science | Comments Off on The Methodical, Cheerful, Bluntness of Isaac Asimov

Links and Comments: Derek Muller and the Beauty of Nihilism

Posted on Tuesday 18 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Via, a lovely video by YouTube vlogger Derek Muller, who runs a channel called Veritasium — “a channel of science and engineering videos featuring experiments, expert interviews, cool demos, and discussions with the public about everything science”. “The first principle … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Derek Muller and the Beauty of Nihilism

Links and Comments: Autism and the Perception of Reality

Posted on Tuesday 18 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Two recent items about autism. First, at Alternet, Florida Principal Tries to Quietly Ban Book to Appease Christians, Sets off Sh*tstorm Instead, in which said principal responded to a “handful of Christian parents” who objected to the acclaimed 2003 novel … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Conservative Resistance, Culture, MInd, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Autism and the Perception of Reality

PvC Bibliographies

Posted on Monday 17 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve begun expanding the Resources and Bibliography sub-page to my Provisional Conclusions, this past week, and have discovered how compiling such a bibliography helps to focus my thoughts about what books, out of my sizable library, are most relevant to … Continue reading →

Posted in Provisional Conclusions | Comments Off on PvC Bibliographies

Bay Heat

Posted on Monday 17 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

It was a hot and hazy weekend, very unusual for the Bay Area. When I stepped outside at 7am Saturday morning to pick up the newspapers from the driveway, there was a distinct smell of smoke in the air, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history | Comments Off on Bay Heat