Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

George Lakoff, THE POLITICAL MIND

Subtitled “Why You Can’t Understand 21st-Century American Politics with an 18th-Century Brain” (Viking, June 2008, 292pp, including 20pp of acknowledgements, notes, and index.) Note that the paperback edition from 2009 changed the subtitle to “A Cognitive Scientist’s Guide to Your … Continue reading

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Faith, Consolation, Reality

A couple weeks ago I noted, without any kind of deep analysis, a David Brooks essay about his experience of faith, and how it involved random emotional feelings of transcendence and nothing about perceiving the actual nature of reality. OnlySky, … Continue reading

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Knee-Jerk Conservative Reactions

Conservatives react to the incidents this past week in New Orleans and Las Vegas by blaming their favorite bogeymen. Immigrants! Diversity initiatives! Without evidence, or rationale. As conservatives reject reality, reality-based scientists are rejecting the coming conservative administration, by moving … Continue reading

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What Conservatives Want to Conserve

Another passage from Lakoff, with my interpolations. From page 68: In its moral basis and its content, conservatism is centered on the politics of authority, obedience, and discipline. This content is profoundly antidemocratic, whereas our country was founded on opposition … Continue reading

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Remembering Y2k; a Political Commentator admits he was wrong; Fallibilism; Reading Lakoff

Back to interesting ideas. Heather Cox Richardson recalls Y2K, 25 years ago on January 1st, and how since the problem was fixed (by the scientists and tech guys) some people felt the problem had never been real. As always, she … Continue reading

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Consolidations and Resolutions

More discussion today of what I got done in 2024, and about my ongoing project that will extend into 2025. This is to start consolidating all my writing ideas from the past decade into some overall framework. I’ve been doing … Continue reading

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End of Year 2024

I don’t do this every year, but today I’m inclined to write about what’s gone on this past year, what if anything I’ve “accomplished,” and what if any “progress” I’ve made toward long-term goals. About books read, settling Larry’s estate, … Continue reading

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Why People Believe True Things

A deep inspection of an essay linked by David Brooks in his essay linked yesterday, much aligned with my current themes, with a key takeaway about the idea of “misinformation”; And links to two other pieces I’ll explore later. —— … Continue reading

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End of Year Summaries

David Brooks’ favorite essays include one about how Trump’s people have no clue about how to fix complex problems, and one about why people believe *true* things; Two pieces from The Atlantic about 77 facts from 2024, and important breakthroughs … Continue reading

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Driving the I5, and Varieties of Dining Experience

Another quick trip from the Bay Area to LA over the past few days of the Christmas Holiday, constrained as usual by work schedules. It’s a 370 mile trip, from our place in Oakland to the West LA area where … Continue reading

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