Monthly Archives: January 2022

John Allen Paulos, ONCE UPON A NUMBER: The Hidden Mathematical Logic of Stories (1998)

Posted on Monday 31 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s another John Allen Paulos book, one from 1998, and one that I had not previously read. When I noticed it on the shelf a few weeks ago I realized this was now of particular interest, since in recent years … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Mathematics | Comments Off on John Allen Paulos, ONCE UPON A NUMBER: The Hidden Mathematical Logic of Stories (1998)

L&Cs: More Misleading Maps; Piedmont Park

Posted on Sunday 30 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

More interesting juxtapositions showing how flat maps, especially Mercator projections, give misleading impressions of the relative sizes of areas on Earth. Plus, an endpiece, about Piedmont Park.

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Ls&Cs: Facebook quotes; More about book banning; The crazies

Posted on Saturday 29 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Jesse Bering; Adam Grant; Rod Serling; Dr. Seuss and cancel culture; crazies Sherri T and Candace O.

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: Facebook quotes; More about book banning; The crazies

LQCs: Covid, human sacrifice, religious faith

Posted on Friday 28 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Kurt Andersen on human sacrifice; Matthew Rozsa on Covid-19 and religious faith; headlines.

Posted in Culture, Links & Comments, Religion | Comments Off on LQCs: Covid, human sacrifice, religious faith

Ls&Cs: Breyer, Maus, Panic and Alarm

Posted on Thursday 27 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

A bunch of links, several of which I think make their points by their headlines. Concerning conservative hypocrisy about Supreme Court nominees, banning books, and other matters.

Posted in Culture, Links & Comments, Politics | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: Breyer, Maus, Panic and Alarm

Ls&Cs: Harari on Climate Change

Posted on Wednesday 26 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Yuval Noah Harari has an essay in the current issue of Time Magazine about the cost of tackling climate change.

Posted in Culture, Economics, Science | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: Harari on Climate Change

Ls&Cs: Threats and Exaggerations

Posted on Tuesday 25 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

First, because the general subject fascinates me, here’s a response, by Samuel Goldman in The Week, to the Rauch/Wehner essay in NYT I posted about two days ago about what it is about the left that makes conservatives tolerate Trump.

Posted in Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: Threats and Exaggerations

Ls&Cs: Engagement with the Universe

Posted on Monday 24 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Two contrasting perspectives, today, both passages I just happened to read during my morning web browsing. Rival worldviews. One characterizing religious myths, the other about Kim Stanley Robinson.

Posted in Religion, Science, science fiction | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: Engagement with the Universe

Ls&Cs: Balancing the Left and Right

Posted on Sunday 23 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT, Jonathan Rauch and Peter Wehner, posted 20 Jan 2022: What’s Happening on the Left Is No Excuse for What’s Happening on the Right

Posted in Culture, Politics | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: Balancing the Left and Right

Ls&Cs: Misleading Maps

Posted on Saturday 22 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s one of my favorite counter-intuitive facts: how our impressions of the sizes of countries and continents that we get from (flat) maps are wildly inaccurate.

Posted in Culture, Science | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: Misleading Maps