Monthly Archives: January 2021

Links and Comments: Reality; Economics; Religion and Politics

Posted on Saturday 16 January 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Scientific American: Now Is the Time to Reestablish Reality, subtitled “We need to agree on the evidence—so we can disagree on what to do in light of it” On the occasion of the passing of the Trump administration, of course. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Reality; Economics; Religion and Politics

Links and Comments: Insurrectionists, the G.O.P., Evangelicals, Fantasies, and Lies

Posted on Wednesday 13 January 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s always dangerous to characterize any entire group with some common trait; that’s the first step toward prejudice and bigotry. Yet there are more and more article and essays that find common traits among Republicans, as a group, or at … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Politics, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Insurrectionists, the G.O.P., Evangelicals, Fantasies, and Lies

Links and Comments: Election Reform; Social Change; Insurrectionist Victimhood; Republican Entitlement

Posted on Tuesday 12 January 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT Sunday Review, Beverly Gage and Emily Bazelon: How to Ensure This Never Happens Again, subtitled “The election and its aftermath have revealed weaknesses in our democracy. Here’s how we can fix some of them.” The article reviews how we … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Politics | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Election Reform; Social Change; Insurrectionist Victimhood; Republican Entitlement

Links and Comments: Yet more about conspiracy theories, since they never go away

Posted on Monday 11 January 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

First at Slate, an efficient recounting of the psychological reasons behind the attraction to conspiracy theories. John Ehrenreich: Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories, subtitled “They’re not stupid.” Long quote with links to references left intact: What does predict belief … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Yet more about conspiracy theories, since they never go away

Links and Comments: Not Who We Are; Christians and Trump

Posted on Monday 11 January 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

First, those of my Facebook friends who have the fortitude to read right-wing sites indeed confirm my suspicion that insurrectionists are planning more violence, against all the state capitals, and on inauguration day. So then. Two articles about the claim … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Not Who We Are; Christians and Trump

Links and Comments: It Could Have Been Worse; It Might Get Worse; Lessons

Posted on Saturday 9 January 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

I don’t pretend to have any special insight into current events, but for the sake of perspective, of checking back from the future to see where we were at on this day, I will briefly summarize. (Similarly, it would be … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Politics | Comments Off on Links and Comments: It Could Have Been Worse; It Might Get Worse; Lessons

Links and Comments: The Coup Attempt; Human Nature; Republican Fantasies

Posted on Friday 8 January 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s hard to know where to start given events of the past few days. The general consensus among the pundits and sites that I read is that we knew this was coming all along, that this particular event (the seditious … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: The Coup Attempt; Human Nature; Republican Fantasies

Links and Comments: The Good Old Days; Accusations of Moral Decline

Posted on Sunday 3 January 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Wall Street Journal (via a ‘sponsored’ post in my Fb feed!): Why We Can’t Stop Longing for the Good Old Days, subtitled, “Neurology and nostalgia help explain why people have always worried that the world is going downhill.” It’s an … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: The Good Old Days; Accusations of Moral Decline

Projects Status and Prospects

Posted on Saturday 2 January 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

From Facebook, on Thursday 31 Dec 2020: After years of compiling data, refining scoring schemes, and experimenting with very wide html pages, I’ve begun filling the last two menu tabs at sfadb.com — the one for Rankings (so far just … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history | Comments Off on Projects Status and Prospects

Links and Comments: The Game of Life; Authoritarianism; Conservatives and the Feudal System

Posted on Saturday 2 January 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT, from last week’s Tuesday Science section: The Lasting Lessons of John Conway’s Game of Life. (Print title: “Life, In All Its Glory” with subtitle “Fifty year on, a game still offers lessons about simplicity, complexity and uncertain.”) The article … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Mathematics, Politics | Comments Off on Links and Comments: The Game of Life; Authoritarianism; Conservatives and the Feudal System