Category Archives: Psychology

Insecurity and Inequality

Posted on Saturday 19 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

A long NYT piece about the US economy, feeling bad, inequality, and insecurity; Shorter items about hearing dialogue in movies; the latest anti-woke tantrum; and that “First they came for…” poem. Here’s a big piece in NY Times, that could … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Decline, Psychology | Comments Off on Insecurity and Inequality

Corridors

Posted on Wednesday 16 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The way I would have reimagined the Enterprise for Strange New Worlds; Five rules for reading the news, from Big Think, and my thoughts about them; Apocalyptic rhetoric from the right; conspiracy theories about the Maui wildfires. I’ve enjoyed the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Star Trek | Comments Off on Corridors

The Rule of Law, Degrees of Conspiracy Theorists, and Martin Gardner

Posted on Wednesday 9 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

If Trump’s trial is on TV, will Americans, even his supporters, accept the outcome?; How traditional conspiracy theorists are alarmed by modern conspiracy theorists; Recalling Martin Gardner’s Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science; And just noting a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on The Rule of Law, Degrees of Conspiracy Theorists, and Martin Gardner

Climate Change, Culture, the Economy, and Real Americans

Posted on Tuesday 8 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman on climate change as a culture war issue; Florida censors come after Shakespeare, and educators flee the state; Robert Reich is confidant that Biden will get credit for an economy “that’s better off than it’s been in decades”; … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on Climate Change, Culture, the Economy, and Real Americans

More on the Latest Indictment

Posted on Thursday 3 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Goofy Republican responses to the latest indictment, about Federal employees, and to the teaching of psychology; The spectacle goes on and on, as the US experiences what some are saying is the most important legal indictment in its history: John … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on More on the Latest Indictment

Conservative Morality

Posted on Wednesday 2 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Items today respond to the latest indictment of a certain former president, how his supporters respond, and me trying to wrap my mind around what his supporters think morality and law and order actually is. But I have an idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Morality, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Conservative Morality

Vetting Online News Sources

Posted on Tuesday 1 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

About “critical ignoring”, vetting sources of news before you read them; The distractions of the internet; Today’s back-of-the-envelope timeline, from Savannah/tribal morality to Enlightenment values and now back to Savannah/tribal morality. Here’s a piece, which I probably stumbled upon via … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Psychology | Comments Off on Vetting Online News Sources

My Uninterest in UFOs

Posted on Saturday 29 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

No, I don’t mean disinterest. I’ve mentioned before that people who are unfamiliar with science fiction, or with science fiction writers and fans, tend to assume that SF folks are credulous along the lines of “believing” in UFOs, where “believing” … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | Comments Off on My Uninterest in UFOs

Varieties of Psychological Illusions

Posted on Friday 28 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Wokeness Wars and three Great Untruths; More on that study that explains why people think the past was better, despite evidence. – Jerry Coyne’s website today has this post: Andrew Doyle: The culture war is not fake, but real and … Continue reading →

Posted in Morality, Psychology | Comments Off on Varieties of Psychological Illusions

Living in History

Posted on Saturday 22 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

We’re living through the hottest month and year in history. And it’s only going to get worse; Wondering why Trump fans adore him despite his incoherency and insincerity; And how conservative objections to LGBTQ books in a San Diego library … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, History, Psychology | Comments Off on Living in History