Category Archives: Psychology

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.

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: How People Think, or Not

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 →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on L&Qs&Cs: Tribal Loyalty and Other Atavisms

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

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Simon Baron-Cohen: THE PATTERN SEEKERS: How Autism Drives Human Invention (2020)

Posted on Tuesday 4 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

This is one of those books I heard about when it was published (via a PW review), but passed on at the time. (As I pass on 80% of books I hear about that I think I might like reading, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Psychology | Comments Off on Simon Baron-Cohen: THE PATTERN SEEKERS: How Autism Drives Human Invention (2020)

Links and Comments: January 6th; How Americans Need Each Other; How to ‘Do Your Own Research’; Enduring Conspiracy Theories

Posted on Monday 3 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Let’s do some links and comments today, then tomorrow perhaps I’ll return to posting book summaries. NYT, The Editorial Board, 1 Jan 2022: Every Day Is Jan. 6 Now This could be a reference from my 2021 in Review post. … Continue reading →

Posted in Links & Comments, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: January 6th; How Americans Need Each Other; How to ‘Do Your Own Research’; Enduring Conspiracy Theories

Ls&Cs: A Few Recent Headlines

Posted on Thursday 25 November 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Investing; astrology and narcissism; fear as self-defense; insurgency in America.

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Social Progress | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: A Few Recent Headlines

Links & Comments: How the Media Should Cover Indecent Politicians; The Streisand Effect

Posted on Monday 22 November 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s the beginning the holiday season, which means I’ll get less done. I’m a little like Isaac Asimov, in the way that he famously preferred to stay at home (in his Manhattan highrise, with the curtains closed) to read and … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links & Comments: How the Media Should Cover Indecent Politicians; The Streisand Effect

Ls&Cs: The Middle Ground Between Conspiracy Theorists and Rationalist Control

Posted on Sunday 21 November 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Anti-Conspiracy Theorists aren’t always right either; headlines from The Guardian about White reasoning and how facts don’t change minds.

Posted in Psychology | Comments Off on Ls&Cs: The Middle Ground Between Conspiracy Theorists and Rationalist Control