Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Small Town Thinking, Climate Change, and Smoking Cigars

Posted on Monday 17 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

What people in small-town Oklahoma think; Today’s headlines about the effects of climate change; A lagniappe about Republicans who need to smoke their cigars; and recalling the assumptions of 1940s science fiction by Isaac Asimov. We coastal elites are sensitive … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Culture, science fiction | Comments Off on Small Town Thinking, Climate Change, and Smoking Cigars

Emergence, Complexity, and the Potential for Human Understanding

Posted on Sunday 16 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Here are a couple scientific topics that I don’t pretend to understand, at least not in any depth. What I find fascinating is how, while the big-scale scientific conclusions have been fairly stable for several decades (as noted two weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in MInd, Physics, Science | Comments Off on Emergence, Complexity, and the Potential for Human Understanding

Change Control

Posted on Saturday 15 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How even modest measures to ameliorate problems in NYC face resistance; How religious certitudes from Alito and others will not end well. Still under the weather, but let’s try a couple items from today’s NYT, about perhaps the broadest issue … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Evolution, Morality, Social Progress | Comments Off on Change Control

I’ve Caught a Cold; How Much of Science Fiction is Obsolete?

Posted on Friday 14 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve caught colds my entire life; two or three a year. I sneeze, cough, and it usually starts with a sore throat. (Whereas I very rarely have gotten flues, with a temperature and symptoms that go on for a week.) … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Personal history, science fiction | Comments Off on I’ve Caught a Cold; How Much of Science Fiction is Obsolete?

Narrative Drives, Reality, and Nothingburgers

Posted on Wednesday 12 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

More conservative reactions to Hunter Biden’s conviction, and how they are examples of humanity’s drive to fit any new evidence into pre-existing narrative; Heather Cox Richardson on how reality defies Trump’s narrative; How the extreme conservative worldview includes stoning gays … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Politics, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Narrative Drives, Reality, and Nothingburgers

Politics as Fantasy, as Competing Stories

Posted on Tuesday 11 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Three topics for today. The Hunter Biden verdict this morning, and how conservatives explain it to fit their conspiracy theories; Religious dimwittery about installing the Ten Commandments into schools; and Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito’s presumptuous allegiance to Christian godliness … Continue reading →

Posted in Morality, Music, Narrative, Politics | Comments Off on Politics as Fantasy, as Competing Stories

Second Return from Austin

Posted on Monday 10 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

More executor fun over the past few days. I and my partner and his son and son’s wife spent a long hot weekend in Austin going through Larry’s house, meeting an estate seller and a realtor and a neighbor, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history | Comments Off on Second Return from Austin

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 2

Posted on Wednesday 5 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

(Advisory: I’m traveling to Austin TX tomorrow through Sunday, and so will not be posting here until next Monday, likely.) A key point about this book is that Pinker shows how the facts (the science) of human nature undermine both … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Psychology, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 2

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 1

Posted on Tuesday 4 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “The Modern Denial of Human Nature” (Viking, Oct. 2002, 509pp, including 75pp appendix, notes, references, and index) This is an enormous, thorough book on a topic already covered to some extent by several of the other major books I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Psychology, science fiction, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 1

Incoherence, Lies, Getting Even, and an Apology

Posted on Monday 3 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Back to items about conservative politics from the last few days. Trump’s incoherent press conference speech, following his New York City conviction; His lie about never saying “Lock her up” and Fox News’ casuistic excuse; The priority of Republicans to … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Incoherence, Lies, Getting Even, and an Apology