Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly
Are We Living in the Worst of Times?
Or is it only human nature to think so? A Scientific American piece about the denial of reality. Maybe the evidence suggests we *are* living in the worst of times. Short pieces about MAGA infighting and accusations, economists warning about … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Culture, Politics
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Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 4
Another five chapters, mostly addressing the fears people have with the idea of an innate human nature, as opposed to the idealized blank slate: concerning inequality, imperfectibility, determinism, and nihilism. Earlier posts about this book: post 1, post 2, post … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Science, Steven Pinker
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How Language Changes, Sometimes for Political Purposes
Three items from the news the past few days. First, some quotes from a piece about how climate change deniers have refined their game. TNR, The New Republic, Genevieve Guenther, 24 Jun 2024: The New Climate Denial Is Based on … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Science
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Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 3
Summaries and comments about three more chapters of Steven Pinker’s THE BLANK SLATE; And YouTube tracks from one of my favorite film scores: Richard Robbins’ for The Remains of the Day. I’ll try to get through the rest of book … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Music, Science, Steven Pinker
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Understanding Human Nature
Ultimately, everything in the daily news makes sense through an honest understanding of human nature. (It is not there are two legitimate “sides” to every issue.) Two thought pieces for today, then a bunch of shorter items. About how macaques … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Evolution, Human Progress, Humanism, Philosophy
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Locus Awards 2024
Quick post at nearly 8 in the evening, just home from the Locus Awards. Like last year, they were held live at Preservation Park in downtown Oakland; last year’s report is here, and I’m going to borrow a photo from … Continue reading
Posted in Personal history, science fiction
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Loyalty vs. Principles
Three threads today, all related. Considering whistle-blowing as an example of wrestling loyalty vs. principles, and how this applies to Trump and his followers; Related items about how Trump supporters vow to “lie, cheat, and steal”; how Donald Trump knows … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Evolution, Morality
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The Ten Commandments as the Distillation of Tribal Morality
What to make of the continued efforts by the religious conservatives to impose the Ten Commandments onto schoolchildren and passerby in America’s courtrooms? Which part of the First Amendment don’t they understand? Some part presumption and some part ignorance and … Continue reading
Inherent Ignorance; Juneteenth; Republican schemes about tariffs.
Another three tracks for today. Are some people so ignorant that they believe the creation of the world (and the US) happened 2023 years ago? An example from Facebook. How Juneteenth suggests considering the relationship between MAGA and the Old … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Economics, History
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Beware Intuition and Common Sense
Three tracks today: Steven Pinker on how democracy and enlightenment values are not intuitive (even though they’ve led to the betterment of humanity); Items about conservative meanings of ‘truth’ and ‘facts’; how evangelicals think sex is only for purposes of … Continue reading
