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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» Previous Views from Medina Road (2003-2013)
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Recent Posts
- This Much is Reality… and This Much is Fantasy
- The Anticipation of Unintended Consequences
- Dispatches from the Real World
- The Overton Window of Deviance
- Shocked, Just Shocked
- Continuing Our Studies of Human Nature…
- Here’s a New One: Terrain Theory
- A Little Knowledge… Is a Dangerous Thing
- Politics and Psychology
- There Is Always Long Term Progress and Short Term Retreat
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Meta
Category Archives: Science
More on the Wars Against Education and Science
So many examples to keep up with!
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Education, Science
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The Universe Is Enormous, and Reductionist
A couple science links (for a change) and some more endpiece. Big Think, 22 Aug 2022: This logarithmic view of the Universe will blow your mind Subtitle: “As we look to larger cosmic scales, we get a broader view of … Continue reading
Posted in Science
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Son of Longtermism
Some 14 days ago, in this post, I linked and quoted from a NYT guest essay by William MacAskill about valuing the future as much as we value the present. Which struck me as a reasonable position to take, a … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Human Progress, Humanism, Philosophy, Science, Social Progress
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Randy Olson, HOUSTON, WE HAVE A NARRATIVE
This is an interesting book that I’m disappointed by only because it’s not the book I wanted to read. That is, not the author’s fault. An interesting, useful, book nonetheless. (University of Chicago Press, 2015, trade paperback, 260pp) Olson’s book … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Narrative, Science
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Demographic Studies: Red v Blue, Abortions, Social Services, and Mortality Gaps
Two items today that fit neatly together. They are illustrations of demographic trends that seem always to align. Red states, religion, support for authoritarian politicians, disapproval of abortion, disapproval of certain books, distrust of science, and lack of social services. … Continue reading
Intercessory Prayer and Science
About a month ago I put together a post in part about how belief in prayer reflects a fundamental inability to understand cause and effect in the real, actual, physical world; that post is here. I had a current link … Continue reading
Climate Change Denial and Christian Nationalists
Today, links about the threats, to American democracy and the survival of the planet, from conservatives, especially the religious ones. NYT, Paul Krugman, 4 July 2022: Another Step Toward Climate Apocalypse
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Religion, Science
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Ed Yong’s New Book
Another quick post. Ed Yong, the science writer, has a new book out today — in fact my copy is running late, and will be delivered tomorrow — called An Immense World — about how animals perceive the world much … Continue reading
Posted in Science
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More Thinking about Women and Men
To follow up on yesterday’s post, two items today.
Aesthetics: Color Theory: 60:30:10
Here’s another item I saw just recently, which shares with the previous post how a design principle can be crystalized in numbers. Via Boing Boing, Devin Nealy, 31 May 2022: The 60-30-10 percent rule of color
Posted in Aesthetics, MInd, Science
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