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
EO Wilson, CONSILIENCE, 11
Chapter 12, To What End? Wilson’s final chapter ponders options for humanity’s future, and comes down on the side of “existential conservatism.” And since it is about humanity’s future, the chapter has some things to say about the themes of … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Human Progress, Morality, Psychology, Science, science fiction
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The Economy, the Deep State, and Conservative Denial of Reality
How conservatives have won their war against social media in order to keep spreading disinformation; A reality check on what the “Deep State” actually consists of; Two more takes on why so many people don’t realize how good the American … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Economics, Politics
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Ancient and Modern Morality, Examples
David French and Stephen Breyer on originalism; Short items about how Trump is out of his mind (from Robert Reich), his “blood bath” comments, and his threat to shut down the media; Jamelle Bouie on how the election isn’t about … Continue reading
EO Wilson, CONSILIENCE, 10
Chapter 11, Ethics and Religion The chapter in the book that would most challenge conservatives, or anyone who thinks morality and religion are handed down from on high. Key points in this chapter: On ethics: Author summarizes arguments on both … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Human Progress, Morality, Science
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Motivated Reasoning, Supreme Court Edition
Just one short, but provocative, item today. This is the opening piece in the “Talk of the Town” section in the March 18th issue of The New Yorker. It cuts to the core of Supreme Court, and conservative, thinking. The … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Psychology, Social Progress
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A Potential Revolutionary Scientific Reinterpretation
No one thinks that all of physics, or cosmology, is solved; the reigning problems in cosmology include contradictory conclusions about the age of the universe, and the nature of “dark matter” and “dark energy,” both terms being placeholders for unknown … Continue reading
EO Wilson, CONSILIENCE, 9
Chapter 10, The Arts and Their Interpretation Here we have perhaps the area most resistant to the idea of biological or psychological interpretation. Because it doesn’t occur, especially to the artists themselves, why people tell certain kinds of stories and … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Human Progress, Psychology, Science
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OnlySky, Religions, Cults, and the Crazies
The end of OnlySky; What the difference between religions and cults is; Items about the crazies: Hillary’s acid, executions, God’s law, and how vaxxed people are inhuman. * Alas, the end of OnlySky, which might have been called a safe … Continue reading
EO Wilson, CONSILIENCE, 8
Chapter 9, The Social Sciences Now Wilson begins takes his conclusions about human nature and searches for ways to bring insight, if not explanation, to various aspects of human culture, in particular studies in the humanities that are supposedly resistant to … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Human Progress, MInd, Psychology, Science
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Emotional Intelligence and Con Men
Robert Reich on Trump’s stupidity — except for his emotional intelligence, which manifests as his being a con man; Peter Wehner on “Fifth Avenue Republicans”; Tom Nichols about why Trump shouldn’t be given security briefings; Music: Neil Finn’s “Into the … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Music, Politics, Psychology
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