Category Archives: Culture

Apophenia, Religious Apologists, No True Scotsman

Posted on Tuesday 4 November 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I maintain a Word document where I compile links and quotes from online articles I intend to comment on in this blog, and as I post each one, I gray out the text of that section of the Word doc. … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Evolution, Religion | Comments Off on Apophenia, Religious Apologists, No True Scotsman

Heroic Individuals and Magical Thinking

Posted on Tuesday 28 October 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Two interesting article from today’s Science section of The New York Times. From science writer Dennis Overbye: The Leaky Science of Hollywood. The subject is the upcoming film The Theory of Everything, a biopic of Stephen Hawking, which is getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, MInd, Psychology, Religion, Thinking | Comments Off on Heroic Individuals and Magical Thinking

Right Wing paranoia; Conservative propoganda; coming out Smart like coming out Gay

Posted on Friday 24 October 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Interesting links the past few days, with comments. 5 Years After Passage Of Hate Crimes Law, Religious Right’s Dire Predictions Still Haven’t Come True Well, of course not. This is just another example of the Christian Right’s paranoia, and an … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Religion, The Gays | Comments Off on Right Wing paranoia; Conservative propoganda; coming out Smart like coming out Gay

Why Christian films are so bad; LGBT issues; the superiority of atheist values and ethics

Posted on Wednesday 15 October 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve been so preoccupied with moving issues in recent weeks that I’ve not kept up on my blog. Here are a couple notable items from this past week. A reviewer for Salon explores why the several recent Christian films — … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Culture | Comments Off on Why Christian films are so bad; LGBT issues; the superiority of atheist values and ethics

Education, Inculcation, Smart Kids, Evolution and Religion, Value Voter Summit

Posted on Monday 29 September 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Two fine essays from this past Sunday’s New York Times. Frank Bruni: The Wilds of Education When it comes to bullying, to sexual assault, to gun violence, we want and need our schools to be as safe as possible. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Evolution, Religion | Comments Off on Education, Inculcation, Smart Kids, Evolution and Religion, Value Voter Summit

Links and Comments from Recent Weeks, 18 Sep14

Posted on Thursday 18 September 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Or at least, a few of them. More to follow. Slate: It’s All Connected: What links creativity, conspiracy theories, and delusions? A phenomenon called apophenia. About why credulous folks see Jesus in a tortilla, or Mary in a tree stump, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Culture, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments from Recent Weeks, 18 Sep14

Recent Links and Comments: Do You Believe in Blue?

Posted on Friday 15 August 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on three weeks of content, having been preoccupied by personal projects and various life changes. Divided into groups. Science Fascinating speculation by Steve Pinker on the evolutionary significance of music Pinker argues that in fact that music is not an … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Book Notes, Culture, Evolution, MInd, Psychology, Religion, Science, The Gays, Thinking | Comments Off on Recent Links and Comments: Do You Believe in Blue?

Recent Links and Comments: Dinesh D’Souza, PZ Myers, John C. Wright

Posted on Thursday 24 July 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate: A Congressman Signs Up for the Dinesh D’Souza Tantrum Tour This reflects, it seems to be, the popular jingoistic notion that one’s own country — or state, or city, or sports team — can never be wrong, must always … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Comments Off on Recent Links and Comments: Dinesh D’Souza, PZ Myers, John C. Wright

Recent Links and Comments: Ken Ham, Timothy Egan, Valerie Tarico, Adam Frank, Nathaniel Frank

Posted on Thursday 24 July 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I’m some two weeks behind on posting comments and links here, though I’ve been compiling such links for eventual posting. Website issues have preoccupied me. Here’s a first bunch of them. More tomorrow. 23 July: Salon: The Christian right’s 5 … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Lunacy, Religion, science fiction | Comments Off on Recent Links and Comments: Ken Ham, Timothy Egan, Valerie Tarico, Adam Frank, Nathaniel Frank

Today’s Odds and Ends: Conservative rejection of science; Christians’ perceived persecution; Dinesh D’Souza’s paranoia

Posted on Wednesday 9 July 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

There have been several articles in recent days about how people [conservatives] who don’t accept evolution or climate science don’t necessarily know less about those subjects than others… they do so because their “community” rejects such conclusions, by instinct. New … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Evolution, Lunacy, Reviews, Thinking | Comments Off on Today’s Odds and Ends: Conservative rejection of science; Christians’ perceived persecution; Dinesh D’Souza’s paranoia