Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Planning, and Semesters

Posted on Saturday 16 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

When you’re retired, not working or going to school or driven by any particular schedule, as I’ve been more or less for a decade now, you tend to mark the passage of time by the holidays or vacations or family … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history, Psychology | Comments Off on Planning, and Semesters

Why Some Religions Seek Atheist Approval

Posted on Friday 15 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Greta Christina on how some religious believers, oddly, seek an atheist seal of approval. It makes a weird sort of sense. Greta Christina, AlterNet, 14 Sep 2023: Opinion | Why religious believers are so desperate for the atheist seal of … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Why Some Religions Seek Atheist Approval

Conspiracy Theories from Apollo 11 to Today

Posted on Thursday 14 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Looking at today’s Phil Plait column at Scientific American, about his responses to a 2001 Fox TV program that claimed the Apollo 11 Moon landing was a hoax; The history since then about so many other conspiracy theories; And how … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | Comments Off on Conspiracy Theories from Apollo 11 to Today

Another Day of Examples of Beliefs vs. Reality

Posted on Wednesday 13 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Another example of conservatives retelling history, from PragerU; How those with beliefs in subjective truths are more prone to conspiracy theories; How China is now using AI to sow disinformation to gullible Americans, and wondering how long it will be … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, History, Psychology | Comments Off on Another Day of Examples of Beliefs vs. Reality

No Evidence vs. Evidence

Posted on Tuesday 12 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items today. How Republicans are determined to impeach President Biden, despite lack of any evidence of his committing any crime (in striking contrast for former president Trump); How many people think crime is worse than ever, and the economy … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | Comments Off on No Evidence vs. Evidence

Odds and Ends from Recent Weeks

Posted on Monday 11 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today I’m catching up on numerous items from recent weeks that I want to note even though I haven’t had time to thoroughly read or comment about them. A couple of them, at least, I will revisit, because I need … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Meaning, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Odds and Ends from Recent Weeks

Sibley Volcanic Park; the Doctrine of Discovery

Posted on Sunday 10 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today — yet another pleasant day in the Bay Area, sunny and 74 degrees Fahrenheit — we went for a hike in the Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, an area in the hills north of us where an actual volcano erupted … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, History, Personal history | Comments Off on Sibley Volcanic Park; the Doctrine of Discovery

Laptop Updates; More about the Crisis in Cosmology; Political matters; A History of Labor Day

Posted on Saturday 9 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

New laptop updates. Another “calm down” reaction to the recent news about the “crisis in cosmology”; Political matters, including Alabama’s defiance of the Supreme Court; parental rights; freedom and education; And Heather Cox Richardson on the history of Labor Day. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmology, History, Personal history, Politics | Comments Off on Laptop Updates; More about the Crisis in Cosmology; Political matters; A History of Labor Day

Items about the Economy and Atheism

Posted on Friday 8 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Settling in with the new laptop today, making all the fiddly adjustment settings away from the defaults that I’ve lived with for years on my previous device. It’s a decent exercise to re-examine why I made those changes. And to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Items about the Economy and Atheism

Science Reporting in the Mass Media; Harari on the Discovery of Ignorance; The Republicans’ Need to Game the System

Posted on Thursday 7 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two stories about how science stories are reported in the mass media: One about how humans nearly went extinct 900,000 years ago; another about that “crisis in cosmology”; Yuval Noah Harari about the discovery of ignorance; And three items that … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Science | Comments Off on Science Reporting in the Mass Media; Harari on the Discovery of Ignorance; The Republicans’ Need to Game the System