Category Archives: Psychology

To Conservatives, Woke Seems to Mean Whatever They Don’t Like

Posted on Thursday 16 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

So my take on wokeness, a couple weeks ago, as a “perhaps exaggerated respect for the sensitivities of others,” is not what most others mean by “woke.” To some conservatives, it means anything they don’t like or want to acknowledge, … Continue reading →

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Narratives, Vanity, and Empathy

Posted on Wednesday 15 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

A writer named Alissa Quart has a new book out, Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream, that challenges the American myth that one can “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” to succeed all on your own. It’s a fantasy … Continue reading →

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Michael Shermer: CONSPIRACY: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational

Posted on Monday 6 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Michael Shermer’s latest book, a thorough account of why people believe conspiracy theories, why it might be beneficial (for evolutionary reasons) to give them the benefit of the doubt (even if they’re not true), with some deep dives into several … Continue reading →

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Disinformation and Tribal Beliefs

Posted on Sunday 5 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Political items? Or items about people who don’t quite live in the real world? Is there a psychological term for them? NY Times, Linda Qiu, 4 Mar 2023: Fact-Checking Trump’s Speech at CPAC, subtitled “The former president made inaccurate claims … Continue reading →

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There are “Theories” and then there are “Theories”

Posted on Tuesday 28 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

I have an idea I haven’t heard or read anyone express before: that some of the confusion about science on the one hand, and the legitimacy of crazy, sometimes deliberately fabricated, nonsensical ideas about what’s going on in the world … Continue reading →

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Arguing to Win, Not to Be Right

Posted on Thursday 23 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two books about how to argue; more on the “national divorce”; and items about the right-wing battle for the next century, train deregulation, a new target list of enemies, and buying your way onto bestseller lists. Here’s a review in … Continue reading →

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Red and Blue and Diversity

Posted on Wednesday 22 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

About a fringe notion to split the US into separate nations of red and blue states; and about the range of human nature and the value of diversity. Haven’t run this item yet; it seemed so fringe, a couple days … Continue reading →

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SOTU Address and Other Current Events

Posted on Wednesday 8 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Some things never change… NY Times, Round Table, 8 Feb 2023: Times Columnists Respond to the State Of the Union I’ll just list the contributors and their headlines. Frank Bruni: Biden showed himself to be a happy warrior. Nicholas Kristof: … Continue reading →

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Dacher Keltner, AWE: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life

Posted on Tuesday 7 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

This is a book about the subjective experience of awe, and how being aware of everyday examples of awe can make your life more meaningful and fulfilling; yet how (in my take) it’s about the emotion, triggered by both the … Continue reading →

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Suppression, Prejudice, and Misinformation

Posted on Thursday 2 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Three political topics for today. How the Republicans seek to suppress history, concepts, books, even words; Two problems that could be solved simultaneously (were it not for Republicans); How anti-vaxxers and anti-abortionists are searching for new senses of meaning.

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