Category Archives: Evolution

The Sixth Extinction and the Pope’s Encyclical

Posted on Monday 22 June 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Weekend Facebook post, amended: The Sixth Extinction: Curious this topic is in the news suddenly, all over the past couple days, since the idea has been recognized for years and the latest Pulitzer Prize winning nonfiction book, by Elizabeth Kolbert, … Continue reading →

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Narrativium and Lies-to-children

Posted on Thursday 18 June 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

I was looking at the third volume in this series, published in the US last week (the publisher, Penguin Random House/Anchor, has kindly been sending me copies), and realized the book wasn’t at all what I’d thought at first glance … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Modern Physics; Evolution and Strangers; Coming out in totalitarian societies; Elizabeth Kolbert on Mars

Posted on Monday 8 June 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Sunday’s New York Times has a “Gray Matter” essay on A Crisis at the Edge of Physics by Adam Frank and Marcelo Gleiser* is about whether the empirical method — validating theories via predictions and evidence — does not work … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Physics, Science, The Gays | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Modern Physics; Evolution and Strangers; Coming out in totalitarian societies; Elizabeth Kolbert on Mars

Upon Returning from a Wedding

Posted on Tuesday 2 June 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve tweaked a few passages in my Provisional Conclusions today, in light of attending a family wedding in a socially conservative state and observing first-hand a community that obviously thrives in the context of a traditional religious narrative. What my … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: About religious parents shielding their children from reality

Posted on Tuesday 26 May 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

More about the Duggars’ insular worldview. Gawker: Tell Your Duggar Tales: Did Michelle Duggar Get a Gay Crew Member Fired? The family kept their children so sealed from exposure to the outside world that their ideas about big cities like … Continue reading →

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A Month’s Worth of Links and Comments

Posted on Friday 1 May 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

New York Times, March 20: In the Age of Information, Specializing to Survive The Internet makes it easy to learn almost anything. And yet And yet, even as the highbrow holy grail — the acquisition of complete knowledge — seems … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Pale Blue Dot; 10 Commandments; Evolution; Tribalistic thinking; Answers for Creationists

Posted on Friday 13 March 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

I have a batch of links with notes from almost a month ago that I never got around to posting. Let me catch up. On the theme in recent posts of awe-inspiring graphics or videos, here’s a piece by Phil … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Evolution, Psychology, Religion, Science, Ten Commandments | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Pale Blue Dot; 10 Commandments; Evolution; Tribalistic thinking; Answers for Creationists

Link and Comment: Language Creationists?

Posted on Tuesday 3 March 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Vox is an interesting relatively new site that I discovered a couple months ago; one of the editors/principal writers is Matthew Yglesias, who left Slate to help create this site, with Ezra Klein. One thing I admire about the site … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Robert Wright on Brian Williams; Obama on Christianity; Children of Gay Parents; Republicans and evolution

Posted on Thursday 12 February 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Wright — author of among other books The Moral Animal (1994), one of the best books I’ve read about how evolutionary psychology affects human culture and relationships — offers his perspective, in New Republic, on how Brian Williams Is … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Michael Shermer, Science and God, Religion vs Education, Your soul

Posted on Monday 2 February 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Michael Shermer’s new book As mentioned a couple posts ago, Michael Shermer has a new book out this week (I got my copy yesterday), The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom, which addresses … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Culture, Evolution, Morality, Religion, science fiction | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Michael Shermer, Science and God, Religion vs Education, Your soul