Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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Meta
Category Archives: Science
Follow-up Links on Current Themes
Let’s catch up on links from the past couple weeks that I haven’t already used, beginning with some follow-ons to topics already covered. Climate Change: Scientists have reached the “I told you so” moment; The DeSantis video: Republicans are now … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Politics, Science
Comments Off on Follow-up Links on Current Themes
Ignoring Evidence vs Paying Attention
The hottest day on Earth, as scientists have anticipated; David French on the mindset of MAGA America As the scientists have been predicting for decades. NY Times, 6 Jul 2023: Heat Records Are Broken Around the Globe as Earth Warms, … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Science
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Summer Solstice; Reality and Illusions
The summer solstice is a consequence of basic facts about the Earth and the solar system, which apparently few people understand; Another example of how debates are usually pointless, including political debates; Another take on the false idea that people … Continue reading
Debate Is Not the Way to Do Science
Because debate is all about winning an argument toward a preconceived conclusion, not trying to identify truth. Vox, 22 Jun 2023: Joe Rogan wants a “debate” on vaccine science. Don’t give it to him., subtitled “How to have better conversations … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Science
Comments Off on Debate Is Not the Way to Do Science
Today’s Examples of Tribal Loyalty
Examples today of: Defunding the IRS, mostly to benefit the wealthy; Tax cuts, benefiting mostly the wealthy; A party of law & order anxious to pardon its member for crimes against law & order; Defenses of Trump that are a … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Science
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Law vs. Science, Climate Change vs. Insurance
Two items about the Supreme Court’s redefinition of “wetlands,” despite the science of hydrology; Two items about the effects of climate change, including how some insurance companies are refusing new homeowner policies.
Einstein, Vigilante Justice, the Gin and Tonic Workout
Albert Einstein and what he didn’t say; More on Republican support for vigilante justice; How a drink or two enables an intense workout. NY Times, Benyamin Cohen (a specialist on Einstein), 4 Jun 2023: Einstein and a Theory of Disinformation … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Science
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Ted Chiang, Carl Sagan, Peter Singer
Ten Chiang characterizes the current examples of “artificial intelligence” as “applied statistics”; How Carl Sagan was wrong about the “reptilian brain”, in The Dragons of Eden; And an interview with Peter Singer, the controversial philosopher, author of The Expanding Circle … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Philosophy, Science
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The Holocene and Other Calendars
Here’s a concept I’ve heard of, fascinating and beneficial in ways, problematic in others. Wikipedia: Holocene Calendar
Climate Change, Founding Fathers, UFOs and Scientific Literacy
Topics today: Insurance companies, whose business depends on understanding risks, are taking steps to acknowledge climate change and its threats, even if many ordinary people still don’t “believe” in climate change; How the “founding fathers” were woke, compared to the … Continue reading
