Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Astronomy and the History of Common Knowledge

Posted on Saturday 17 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How far away are the stars? and How has the cosmic distance records progressed over time? My speculations about how people throughout history have perceived the size of the world; Veritasium’s person-on-the-street interviews reveal that many people have no clue … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, science fiction | Comments Off on Astronomy and the History of Common Knowledge

Evidence Maximalism, Pluralism, Seasonality

Posted on Friday 16 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Charlie Warzel on how everything on the Internet can be taken to support one’s preconceived ideas, given motivated thinking and confirmation bias, amplified by the Internet; David Brooks on pluralism as a solution to democracy’s ills, the opposite of what … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology | Comments Off on Evidence Maximalism, Pluralism, Seasonality

A Big Picture vs. Daily Trivia

Posted on Thursday 15 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

An overview of 75 years of American history, by Robert Reich; Fringe items about Republican racism, who’s the traitor, the Taylor Swift conspiracy theory, assertions without evidence, the nanny state, moral certitude, and Fox News. I think many of us … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, History, Politics | Comments Off on A Big Picture vs. Daily Trivia

Catching Up on Items from Facebook, about Conspiracy Theories and Religion

Posted on Wednesday 14 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

“If you don’t know how anything works, everything looks like a conspiracy.” The conspiracy theory about Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl, which seems not to have happened, today; Facebook posts about American accents, how the Bible and Quran contain … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Catching Up on Items from Facebook, about Conspiracy Theories and Religion

Peculiar Trends

Posted on Tuesday 13 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Why are Gen Z views splitting by gender? Complex answer; Why are Republicans more likely to suffer hearing loss? Simple answer; Shorter items: Trump doesn’t understand NATO; about that Super Bowl commercial fueled by the Christian right; whether there’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Peculiar Trends

Pushing Back Against Education

Posted on Monday 12 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How nationalist and religious ideologists are against education, example 5,271,009; How Trump has invited Putin to attack American allies; About Biden’s memory, from a neuroscientist; Short items about Nextdoor.com, the Supreme Court, how the Republican problem is metastasizing; How Paul … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Pushing Back Against Education

The True and the Real

Posted on Sunday 11 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

About the difference between “true” and “real” and recalling Delany’s DHALGREN; An essay about the reality of mathematics, and whether math implies God. Years ago there was a novel — it was Samuel R. Delany’s 1975 novel DHALGREN — that … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics, Philosophy | Comments Off on The True and the Real

Living Proper Lives, and More from the Fringe

Posted on Saturday 10 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

David Brooks on the value of humanist studies; Shorter pieces on the psychology behind Trump; how evangelicals respond to the rise of the “nones”; measle rates rising in Europe; a David Barton case study; Fox News praising a vigilante who … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Spirituality | Comments Off on Living Proper Lives, and More from the Fringe

From Looking Glass to Scary

Posted on Friday 9 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

My “looking glass” take two days ago was a cute way to avoid discussing the “tribalists” or the “cult” but perhaps things are actually getting too serious to dismiss those items as merely bizarre, upside-down-thinking about the world. If it … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Politics | Comments Off on From Looking Glass to Scary

Items about Science, Math, and Philosophy

Posted on Thursday 8 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

There are always looking glass items, as I described topics in yesterday’s post, but for today let’s look at more substantial items. It’s been 100 years since Hubble discovered that our own galaxy wasn’t the entirety of the universe; Steven … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Mathematics, Philosophy, Science | Comments Off on Items about Science, Math, and Philosophy