Category Archives: Psychology

LQCs: Contrarians, Conspiracy Theories, and Talking Points

Posted on Saturday 19 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

The Atlantic, David French, 18 March 2022: What the Russia Invasion Teaches Us About the Right, subtitled, “Contrarians aren’t critical thinkers. They’re gullible reactionaries, vulnerable to conspiracy theories.”

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LQ&Cs: Russia, Putin, gas prices, the open society

Posted on Monday 14 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Russia and fake news, how current gas prices reflect actions untaken and short-term memories, Paul Krugman on Putin vs. the open society, and where Republicans might go with Ukraine conspiracy theories.

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LQCs: Existential Problems

Posted on Wednesday 9 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

There are real, existential problems that humanity needs to worry about.

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L&Cs: The Limits of Human Intelligence; Disinformation and the Media

Posted on Tuesday 8 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Is there a limitation to human intelligence and understanding of reality, bound by our tendency to believe magical things for the sake of tribal unity? And how do people understand reality when governments seeking to maintain power are in control … Continue reading →

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LQCs: Narratives and Reality, about San Francisco, Convoluted Conspiracy Theories, and the Invasion of Ukraine

Posted on Sunday 6 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

How narratives overtake reality.

Posted in Links & Comments, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on LQCs: Narratives and Reality, about San Francisco, Convoluted Conspiracy Theories, and the Invasion of Ukraine

Media Literacy; Endpieces

Posted on Sunday 27 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Trying to find something to discuss today besides the latest war news and the latest right-wing conspiracy thinking. Just one linked item today, I think, then some endpiece items. (Graphic by Robert Reich.)

Posted in Personal history, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Media Literacy; Endpieces

Ls&Cs: How People Think, or Not

Posted on Wednesday 23 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

I continue to be fascinated about how people think, or don’t think, and how they draw or maintain conclusions about the world around them. The particular things believed aren’t the point, exactly.

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Ls&Cs: How the Right Counts on Conspiracy Theories

Posted on Thursday 17 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Links today about how conspiracy theories advantage the right, and how this implicitly acknowledges that conservatives can’t win elections based on positions, arguments, or values.

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Psychology | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: How the Right Counts on Conspiracy Theories

L&Qs&Cs: Tribal Loyalty and Other Atavisms

Posted on Saturday 5 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

This is fascinating *not* because it’s political, but because it’s evidence that however much some of us think the world “progresses,” there will always be atavisms. With a Randall Munroe namecheck at the end. NYT, Jon A. Shields, 3 Feb … Continue reading →

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L&Q&Cs: Neal Stephenson on What Might Save Us

Posted on Thursday 20 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Sunday’s New York Times Magazine had an interview with SF writer Neal Stephenson, whose latest novel is Termination Shock. NYT Times Magazine: Neal Stephenson Thinks Greed Might Be the Thing That Saves Us

Posted in Culture, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on L&Q&Cs: Neal Stephenson on What Might Save Us