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
Last Questions and Possible Answers, 2
This is a sequel to a post I did back in March, Last Questions and Possible Answers, 1, in which I considered the John Brockman book The Last Unknowns, in which he gathers deep unanswered questions about “the universe, the … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy, Science
Comments Off on Last Questions and Possible Answers, 2
Three from SciAm
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
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Fox News Admits They Were Wrong; Reviews by Michael Dirda
First, a follow up to my Media Literacy post three days ago. Stop the Presses! Something amazing has happened! Salon, Amanda Marcotte, 23 May 2023: Fox News falls for another hoax, as the Dominion defamation settlement pays off, subtitled “The … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics, Narrative, Science, science fiction
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Social Pressures that Subvert Objective Knowledge
Two items today: How conservatives are steering education to the classics of the ancient Greeks, as if only ancient “knowledge” is valid How some modern institutions prioritize identity and D.E.I. over objective science NY Times, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, 4 May 2023: … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Science
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Conservative Ideology Over Evidence: The Abortion Pills
Several links today to articles on the same topic.
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Science
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Jerry Coyne on Deepak Chopra, Alex Ross on Max Richter, and others
Jerry Coyne on Deepak Chopra And on the latest argument for the compatibility of science and faith A misleading article on the recent “paradigm” shift in the understanding of human evolution Reviews of new books by Sarah Bakewell and Sarah … Continue reading
Theory of Mind, UFOs, and Music
Three items today. Do Chatbots have a “theory of mind”? Probably not. Why fascination about UFOs has lingered; my own brief fascination with them when I was 13; and David Brin’s current take on them; How music does not “mean” … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Science, Technology
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Progressions
Topics in this post: The success of wokeness. How the least religious nations are among the healthiest along many measures. Partha Dasgupta on how the GDP should account for the cost of what we use. Julian Baggini on philosophy and … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Reviews, Science, Social Progress
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Five Planets Visible in the Sky
I missed seeing that greenish comet that was visible in the sky a few weeks ago. The latest sky event being discussed in the media — at least on TV and on websites — is a fairly rare conjunction of … Continue reading
Last Questions and Possible Answers, 1
When I was browsing through several John Brockman books a few weeks ago, I decided to buy the last one he published in that series, from 2019. It’s called The Last Unknowns, and instead of gathering answers from many contributors … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy, Science
Comments Off on Last Questions and Possible Answers, 1
