Category Archives: Science

Today’s Examples of Tribal Loyalty

Posted on Thursday 15 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 →

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Law vs. Science, Climate Change vs. Insurance

Posted on Friday 9 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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.

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Einstein, Vigilante Justice, the Gin and Tonic Workout

Posted on Wednesday 7 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 →

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Ted Chiang, Carl Sagan, Peter Singer

Posted on Monday 5 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 →

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The Holocene and Other Calendars

Posted on Sunday 4 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a concept I’ve heard of, fascinating and beneficial in ways, problematic in others. Wikipedia: Holocene Calendar

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Climate Change, Founding Fathers, UFOs and Scientific Literacy

Posted on Saturday 3 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 →

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Last Questions and Possible Answers, 2

Posted on Friday 2 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 →

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Three from SciAm

Posted on Wednesday 24 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Comments Off on Three from SciAm

Fox News Admits They Were Wrong; Reviews by Michael Dirda

Posted on Tuesday 23 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 →

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Social Pressures that Subvert Objective Knowledge

Posted on Thursday 4 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 →

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