Category Archives: Science

Friday Quick Items

Posted on Friday 10 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

About that mask study; about the lab leak theory; and the volume of social media; and about the length of nonfiction books. NY Times, Zeynep Tufekci, 10 Mar 2023: Here’s Why the Science Is Clear That Masks Work

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Basic Principles: Passages from Shermer

Posted on Wednesday 8 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

In the closing pages of Michael Shermer’s new book, he quotes Jonathan Rauch’s list, from his book The Constitution of Knowledge, about social rules for turning disagreement into knowledge. Shermer expands upon them, and for one of them provides a … Continue reading →

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Assorted Links, early March

Posted on Friday 3 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Politics, The Crazies, Science and Culture, Religion Jeff VanderMeer (and a coauthor) on DeSantis and students in Florida; David French on cancel culture and the now two Overton Windows; Amanda Marcotte on Republican hypocrisy; MTG’s confused timeline; bills to outlaw … Continue reading →

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Leftover February Links, 2

Posted on Thursday 2 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Science, Culture, Politics A 3-D map of near space, and errors in film and TV science fiction, and a novel; 11 recent scientific breakthroughs; a Lunar time zone. When reading went silent. Ron DeSantis’ freedom crackdown, and a question about … Continue reading →

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Leftover February Links, 1

Posted on Wednesday 1 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Politics, Science, Culture, Religion GOP, NYT and Biden; Evolution, Aliens and Balloons; Movie Credits, Awards; He Gets Us, Indoctrination Camps, Education

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There are “Theories” and then there are “Theories”

Posted on Tuesday 28 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

I have an idea I haven’t heard or read anyone express before: that some of the confusion about science on the one hand, and the legitimacy of crazy, sometimes deliberately fabricated, nonsensical ideas about what’s going on in the world … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on There are “Theories” and then there are “Theories”

Items from Big Think about Science and Philosophy

Posted on Monday 27 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How fast is the Earth moving, and in what direction? How the ancient Greek philosophers were mostly wrong but blazed conceptual trails. And thought experiments that challenge conventional thinking.

Posted in Philosophy, Science | Comments Off on Items from Big Think about Science and Philosophy

I do not think this study means what this writer thinks it means

Posted on Saturday 25 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

(Added Sunday: another take on the same study from a writer at Vox.) NYT, Bret Stephens, 21 Feb 2023: The Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned? A conservative columnist for the NY Times claims a meta-study on … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Science | Comments Off on I do not think this study means what this writer thinks it means

Brockman, This Explains Everything, 1

Posted on Saturday 18 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Key topics so far: Evolution by means of natural selection. How life is a digital code. Reflective equilibrium and the evolution of non-objective morality. How evolution explains the conflicts in human social life. And how levels of such “variation-selection processes” … Continue reading →

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Evolution Understood and Not Understood

Posted on Thursday 9 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

I mentioned those John Brockman anthologies of science essays back on Feb 4th. They’re associated with the website Edge.org, one of those fascinating websites I’ve noticed over the years but have not followed regularly (others are Big Think, Quanta, Aero, … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Science | Comments Off on Evolution Understood and Not Understood