Category Archives: Psychology

Then They Came for the Meteorologists

Posted on Monday 29 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s items. How conspiracy theorists are attacking meteorologists; Naomi Oreskes on how the right attacks Social Security because it’s a “big government” program that actually works; The connection between American Christians and Uganda’s “kill the gays” policy And today’s music: … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Music, Psychology | Comments Off on Then They Came for the Meteorologists

Three from SciAm

Posted on Wednesday 24 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Scientific American is a magazine I’ve read intermittently for 50 years. A new take on the difference between liberals and conservatives; How most Americans think they are better than most people, but people in Asian countries do not; How there … Continue reading →

Posted in Mathematics, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on Three from SciAm

More Examples of What MAGA Really Means

Posted on Monday 22 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Items today: How Florida has been designated a dangerous state for blacks, Latinos, and sexual minorities to visit, with Tennessee close behind Florida and Texas on implementing similar policies; Marjorie Taylor Greene’s hypocrisy about drag (she condemns it, except when … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Psychology | Comments Off on More Examples of What MAGA Really Means

Today’s Fantasy vs. Reality Watch

Posted on Sunday 21 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Items today about How Americans feel so negative about the economy, despite actual statistics; How Christian Nationalism is working in Wyoming — the usual evocations of concerns that are not real; How to determine truth, with an aside about science-fictional … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Today’s Fantasy vs. Reality Watch

Budgeting, Firearms, Walls, and Executing Trans People

Posted on Thursday 18 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Several items today. How family and government budgeting are more unalike than similar; How firearms training teaches you that you are in constant danger, and should shoot at once; Thomas L. Friedman on building bigger walls, but also allowing in … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Budgeting, Firearms, Walls, and Executing Trans People

Motivated Reasoning, and Vigilantism

Posted on Wednesday 17 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two themes today. A prime example of motivated reasoning, from today’s NY Times font page (as if on cue from yesterday’s post), about conservative opposition to transgenders And several examples of the increasing Republican approval of vigilantism NY Times, 16 … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Psychology | Comments Off on Motivated Reasoning, and Vigilantism

Skepticism, Beliefs, and Cognitive Biases

Posted on Tuesday 16 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Familiar topics, but worth another look, especially since if they were broadly understood it would make so many of America’s partisan controversies go away. (But conservatives will never allow concepts like skeptical thinking to be taught in schools, for precisely … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Psychology | Comments Off on Skepticism, Beliefs, and Cognitive Biases

Red Herrings, and AI’s effect on Capitalism

Posted on Sunday 14 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items today How Big Oil uses “red herring” issues to deflect attention away from the big issue Ted Chiang on the potential corrosive effect of AI on capitalism Plus, a brief reflection on the SF writers who’ve had things … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Technology | Comments Off on Red Herrings, and AI’s effect on Capitalism

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 →

Posted in Personal history, Psychology | Comments Off on Addicts and Free Will

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 →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Lunacy, Psychology | Comments Off on Gun Violence and Mental Illness