Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Real Conspiracy Theories and Fake Crises

Posted on Wednesday 15 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Benjamin Bradford at CFI about how conspiracy theorists shrug about real conspiracy theories; Big Think on conspiracy theories about places claimed not to exist; Robert Reich on the fake crises Republicans use to distract from real problems. CFI, Benjamin Bradford, … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Epistemology, Psychology | Comments Off on Real Conspiracy Theories and Fake Crises

Witnessing History: When People Tell You Who They Are, Believe Them

Posted on Tuesday 14 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s difficult to keep a perspective on the news, which may well be history happening in front of our eyes, or may simply consist of passing trends. There are always passing trends. In the long term, history shows that most … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Lunacy, Politics | Comments Off on Witnessing History: When People Tell You Who They Are, Believe Them

Disconnects about the Economy

Posted on Monday 13 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

There have been several articles recently about how, and why, economists think the economy is doing just fine, while ordinary people (voters) don’t. Why would this be? Are these ordinary people simply poisoned by partisan propaganda? Or is it something … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Economics, Politics | Comments Off on Disconnects about the Economy

Things that are True about the World, despite Human Intuitions

Posted on Sunday 12 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

After three posts about that Jonathan Rauch book, let’s post some items about conclusions made by the reality-based community. Veritasium on Euclid’s Fifth Postulate, and how there is more to reality than human intuitive thinking; Neil de Grasse Tyson on … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Mathematics, Science | Comments Off on Things that are True about the World, despite Human Intuitions

The Deep State, or, Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 3

Posted on Saturday 11 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve said the last two posts that I would quote the passages of Rauch’s book in which he describes what he considers to be the components of the “reality-based community.” And how it struck me that some of these components … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, conservatives, Epistemology | Comments Off on The Deep State, or, Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 3

Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 2

Posted on Friday 10 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Yesterday I gave a general overview of this book, and made a few specific comments. Today I’m going to read through my notes again, and highlight some more specific comments, and maybe quotes. Like this summary, at the end. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, conservatives, Epistemology | Comments Off on Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 2

Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 1

Posted on Thursday 9 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “A Defense of Truth”. Brookings, 2021. 266pp of text, plus notes and index, total 305pp. This is one of two books I’ve read recently, following the Lee McIntyre book that I posted about two days ago, that dovetail in … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, conservatives, Epistemology | Comments Off on Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 1

Do These People Ever Go Outside and Look Around?

Posted on Wednesday 8 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman asks why the Right hates America; Like Mike Johnson, Rick Santorum is skeptical of democracy (when results don’t go his way); Adam Lee on the allure of tribalism. Paul Krugman responds to the Damon Linker piece that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Epistemology, Morality, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Do These People Ever Go Outside and Look Around?

The Extent of the Universe, and Our History of Understanding It

Posted on Tuesday 7 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

NY Times with a photo spread of images from the James Webb telescope; Big Think with a timeline of our history of understanding our universe. —— NY Times, Kate LaRue, 5 Nov 2023: The James Webb telescope is a giant … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Cosmology, Science | Comments Off on The Extent of the Universe, and Our History of Understanding It

Lee McIntyre, ON DISINFORMATION

Posted on Tuesday 7 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “How to Fight For Truth and Protect Democracy.” The MIT Press, 2023. I’m behind on writing up my recent reading here on this blog, so let me resume with this very short little book, small in size and just … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Epistemology, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Lee McIntyre, ON DISINFORMATION