Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

This Week’s Political and Cultural Items

Posted on Friday 5 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Why Republicans can no longer be called the party of “family values” How Republicans are obsessed by the woke mind virus More reasons why the US needs more immigrants, not fewer Benjamin Wallace-Wells on Tucker Carlson Jerry Coyne on another … Continue reading →

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Social Pressures that Subvert Objective Knowledge

Posted on Thursday 4 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items today: How conservatives are steering education to the classics of the ancient Greeks, as if only ancient “knowledge” is valid How some modern institutions prioritize identity and D.E.I. over objective science NY Times, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, 4 May 2023: … Continue reading →

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Addicts and Free Will

Posted on Wednesday 3 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today, an interesting article about whether addicts have free will. Here’s a piece that’s interesting for its take on a still contentious philosophical issue. Do humans have free will? Intuitively virtually everyone would agree that we do. People “make decisions” … Continue reading →

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Book Censorship, Swivel-Eyed Loons, and Declining Millennial Religion

Posted on Tuesday 2 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Three items today. Why book censorship doesn’t work, and how conservatives don’t learn this. Cory Doctorow on how the objections to the “15-minute city” reflect a genuine concern about corporate influence over the government. How the current generation (unlike past … Continue reading →

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May 1st

Posted on Monday 1 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s post is the completion of yesterday’s post.

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Skiffy Flix: Flight to Mars

Posted on Sunday 30 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s been a while since I’ve watched and posted about a “skiffy flick,” that is, a science fiction movie from the 1950s, plus or minus a decade, when science fiction movies were very popular — or at least, a lot … Continue reading →

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Gun Violence and Mental Illness

Posted on Saturday 29 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Observations about gun violence in the US and its relationship to mental illness. Last month Washington Post published results of a survey, asking AR-15 owners why they bought and owned them. Washington Post, 27 Mar 2023: Why do Americans own … Continue reading →

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A Warm Friday Afternoon

Posted on Friday 28 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

For today, several links and comments, and only one quote. About: The Ten Commandments in Texas; The ambitions of powerful men; The potential loss of literacy; Simon Winchester’s book about the transmission of knowledge; Jerry Coyne on Jesus ‘n’ Mo … Continue reading →

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The Relative Risks of Being Alive

Posted on Thursday 27 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The latest scientific studies of the effects of alcohol have concluded that the best amount of consumption is as little as possible, and how this is best understood through statistics about all kinds of risks; Robert Reich’s take on Trump … Continue reading →

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Intuitive TV and Movie Physics

Posted on Wednesday 26 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Remember this? Remind you of anything? This is the logo that would appear at the end of a Universe Pictures movie in the 1930s.

Posted in Astronomy, Physics, science fiction | Comments Off on Intuitive TV and Movie Physics