Monthly Archives: June 2016

Carl Sagan, THE VARIETIES OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERIENCE (2006): History is a battle of inadequate myths

Posted on Tuesday 7 June 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a book I had forgotten I had, relatively speaking; I obviously bought it back in 2006 or so, but I didn’t read it right away and so it sat on my shelves among many other books (by Sagan and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Cosmology, Culture, Evolution, Human Progress, Provisional Conclusions, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Carl Sagan, THE VARIETIES OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERIENCE (2006): History is a battle of inadequate myths

Growing Up with Books

Posted on Tuesday 7 June 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

My parents weren’t readers themselves, but they were conscientious enough in raising their four children to stock our modest home with sets of encyclopedia and other resources. Many of these were adult resources, not the children’s books that fill large … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history | Comments Off on Growing Up with Books

Reading In and Around the Bible: Genesis, part 2

Posted on Tuesday 7 June 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

A bit more Genesis, before pausing on this subject for a while. 2:9, And in the garden were two trees. An extremely potent metaphor: one is a tree of life, one is a tree of knowledge, and the latter is … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible | Comments Off on Reading In and Around the Bible: Genesis, part 2

Two Interviews about Current Books, about Reproductive Technologies and Social Cohesion

Posted on Saturday 4 June 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Two radio interviews this week worth noting, in part just for the pleasure of listening to smart people, in contrast to what we dutifully hear every day from our politicians. First, this KQED forum interview in which Bioethicist Hank Greely … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Social Progress, Technology | Comments Off on Two Interviews about Current Books, about Reproductive Technologies and Social Cohesion

Sean Carroll, THE BIG PICTURE

Posted on Friday 3 June 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Sean Carroll’s THE BIG PICTURE: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself, just published May 10th, is an ambitious, wide-ranging book not so much about cosmology (Carroll’s specialty at CalTech), as about the perspective we gain through … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Evolution, Heinlein, Human Progress, Meaning, Morality, Philosophy, Physics, Provisional Conclusions, Religion, Ten Commandments | Comments Off on Sean Carroll, THE BIG PICTURE

Personal History: The Radio at Sunset

Posted on Thursday 2 June 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

I am spending time again exploring my early family history, and my early personal history, as I started about two years ago, before my partner and I began the lengthy process of packing up in SoCal, moving to a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history | Comments Off on Personal History: The Radio at Sunset

Reading In and Around the Bible: Genesis, part 1

Posted on Thursday 2 June 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

I finished up the New Testament a couple weeks ago, and have notes and comments on those latter epistles, and Revelation. I then circled back to the beginning, to read Genesis itself, rather than merely comments about it, and since … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Culture, Religion | Comments Off on Reading In and Around the Bible: Genesis, part 1

Links and Comments: The Literary Canon and the Bible; Americans Compared to the Rest of the World; Rush

Posted on Wednesday 1 June 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate, last week: The Canon Is Sexist, Racist, Colonialist, and Totally Gross. Yes, You Have to Read It Anyway, by Katy Waldman. Specifically discussing the curriculum at Yale, in New Haven, Connecticut. This addresses the efforts for some decades now … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: The Literary Canon and the Bible; Americans Compared to the Rest of the World; Rush