Monthly Archives: November 2023

Con Men and Bespoke Realities

Posted on Thursday 30 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

End of November. The sun sets early; the house is chillier. We have our thermostat set to 68. And I think I’m approaching the finishing of one of my long-term projects. And still working on another. Adam Frank on learning … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | Comments Off on Con Men and Bespoke Realities

Bathing, Evidence, Control, Dating, Social Security

Posted on Wednesday 29 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Why daily bathing (just like trying to kill every germ in sight) may not be healthy; Items about Republican admissions they don’t have evidence for their claims; how they take credit for what they voted against; how the party of … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Culture, Evolution, Politics | Comments Off on Bathing, Evidence, Control, Dating, Social Security

Last Questions and Possible Answers, 4

Posted on Tuesday 28 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

This is my fourth and likely last post, following this one in March and this one in June, and this one eight days ago, in which I consider the John Brockman book The Last Unknowns, in which he gathers deep … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Culture, Human Progress, Philosophy, Religion, Science, science fiction | Comments Off on Last Questions and Possible Answers, 4

I Don’t Know. Not Everything has Meaning. And Nihilism. Not What You Think.

Posted on Monday 27 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Essay by Anne Lamott about what she’s learned at age 69; NYT’s Brad Stulberg about traumatic experiences and finding, or not, new meaning; A summary of my recent thinking about the narrative bias, metaphor, and “meaning”; Considering what “nihilism” is … Continue reading →

Posted in Meaning, Philosophy | Comments Off on I Don’t Know. Not Everything has Meaning. And Nihilism. Not What You Think.

End of Thanksgiving Weekend

Posted on Sunday 26 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Late afternoon, Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. Just finished putting lights up on our two second floor balconies, that should come on automatically an dusk. — 5:10pm, they’ve just come on. Oops, except for one string that came on only half-way. … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Music, Personal history, Politics, Religion | Comments Off on End of Thanksgiving Weekend

Just ’cause you feel it / Doesn’t mean it’s there

Posted on Saturday 25 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Comments about that article that distinguished between “liberals” and “progressives”; Yet another piece about how “voters feel one way about the economy but act differently”; An historical overview about how the US economy is no longer the greatest in history; … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History, Music, Politics | Comments Off on Just ’cause you feel it / Doesn’t mean it’s there

November Links

Posted on Thursday 23 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on unused links from the past three weeks. A couple of these I’ll return to in detail. Salon, Nicole Karlis, 23 Nov 2023: The case for bringing a dish of gossip to Thanksgiving this year

Posted in Links | Comments Off on November Links

Authorities, Mythology, and Doing Your Own Research

Posted on Wednesday 22 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Thomas Bulfinch on mythology vs. Scripture; How PragerU dismisses climate change; My advice: do note “do your own research”; find an authority to trust that does not lie about reality. I own books that I’ve had for decades and have … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Authorities, Mythology, and Doing Your Own Research

About UFOs and other perplexing matters

Posted on Tuesday 21 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a provisional thesis (not even a provisional conclusion). The mysteries that most perplex us scientifically — like, say, the nature of consciousness, or what happened “before” the Big Bang — or that attract the most wild, often conspiracy-driven, thinking … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | Comments Off on About UFOs and other perplexing matters

Another Clear, Crisp Day in the Bay Area

Posted on Monday 20 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

A companion to yesterday’s post about politics. Because I’m sure people are as interested in my religious takes as they are in my political takes. (What is the reason religion and politics are never discussed around the dinner table? Because … Continue reading →

Posted in Morality, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Another Clear, Crisp Day in the Bay Area