Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Conservative Fantasies: Boogeymen and Groomers

Posted on Tuesday 5 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Reich on the resurgence of anti-science fundamentalism, recalling again that Scopes trial; A 60 Minutes interview with the founders of Moms for Liberty, which apparently did not go well; How Trump and his follows believe in dystopian fantasies; Short … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Conservative Fantasies: Boogeymen and Groomers

Philosophy, Science, and Politics

Posted on Monday 4 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

First of all, I refined and polished my discussion of the Thomas Nagel book, posted here, and identified my key takeaway. (Sometimes you have to mull things for a few days before your thoughts gel.) Currently revisiting E.O. Wilson’s CONSILIENCE, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Philosophy, Science, and Politics

Two Perspectives on the Current Situation

Posted on Sunday 3 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

The Atlantic‘s Peter Wehner on how evangelicals don’t actually follow Jesus’ teachings; With an aside about my own attempts to cross the political divide; Robert Reich on his history with the New Left and how Trump arose out of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Politics | Comments Off on Two Perspectives on the Current Situation

The Flaw of Math, or Perhaps Just the Limits of Human Cognition

Posted on Saturday 2 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Veritasium on math’s fatal flaw, or perhaps just a limitation on the extent humans can understand reality; Considering why cars are built to be able to break the law; A cartoon about religious folks who believe the Bible was written … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Mathematics, Religion, Technology | Comments Off on The Flaw of Math, or Perhaps Just the Limits of Human Cognition

The History of the Isolationist GOP, and other topics

Posted on Friday 1 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

David Brooks on the history of GOP isolationism; Why Trump loves Putin; Biden is aging but Trump is dementing; accelerating dementia; “languages coming into our country”; a sample rant; How critical thinking might have been applied to the IVF ruling, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics | Comments Off on The History of the Isolationist GOP, and other topics

Thomas Nagel, WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

Posted on Thursday 29 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a *very* short introduction to philosophy, published way back in 1987 but which I tracked down and bought because it was recommended by Edward Craig, author of that other short introduction to philosophy that I reviewed here. As Craig … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy | Comments Off on Thomas Nagel, WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

One More Batch

Posted on Wednesday 28 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

More every day. All of these items are posts today. I’ll move on tomorrow. An essay by a mother about “Republicans’ Absurdist Reproductive Policies”; A MAGA congressman (from Tennessee) floats a Democratic conspiracy theory about the border, dadgummit; Ruben Bolling’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Lunacy, Politics | Comments Off on One More Batch

Items from the Fringe, and the Perhaps Mentally Ill

Posted on Tuesday 27 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Items about CPAC, MAGA’s thirst for blood, and Trump’s autocratic tirade and cognitive decline; Robert Reich notes Trump’s unimpressive performance in the caucuses and primaries; that Libs of TikTok lady calls a reporter a “lizard person”; Republicans want to cancel … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Politics | Comments Off on Items from the Fringe, and the Perhaps Mentally Ill

Steven Pinker’s HOW THE MIND WORKS, post 5

Posted on Tuesday 27 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Several quotes, in addition to those already provided. From Chapter 3, Pinker makes an essential point about how natural selection works. People aren’t driven by their genes to reproduce or even survive — not consciously; people are driven by their … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Religion, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker’s HOW THE MIND WORKS, post 5

Steven Pinker, HOW THE MIND WORKS, post 4

Posted on Monday 26 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Chapter 8, “The Meaning of Life,” is the last 45 page chapter of this 565 page (counting only text) book. Here he covers matters of human culture, much as Wilson did at the end of his 1978 book. Given that … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Music, Psychology, Religion, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker, HOW THE MIND WORKS, post 4