Category Archives: Science

Michael Strevens: THE KNOWLEDGE MACHINE (2020)

Posted on Wednesday 11 August 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a book I read a few weeks ago while in the hospital (so my notes on it are sketchier than usual). It was published last October, though I didn’t buy it until February. When I picked it up to … Continue reading →

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Ls&Cs: Tribal Loyalties and Conservative Irrationality

Posted on Tuesday 10 August 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Several striking items recently that dovetail nicely, about covid and climate change denial.

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Ls&Cs: Two Mathematical Ideas

Posted on Thursday 5 August 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

First: Slate: What Does It Really Mean When a Headline Says “75 Percent of Cases Occurred in Vaccinated People”?, subtitled, “A simple math lesson to calm some of the panic around breakthrough cases.”

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Two Thoughts About Expertise

Posted on Thursday 5 August 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Is the US more susceptible to skepticism about expertise — and to science, and prone to conspiracy theories — than other ‘advanced’ nations? Certainly there are anti-vax zealots in other countries as well, but I’ve thought of two reasons why … Continue reading →

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Ls&Cs: Steven Weinberg

Posted on Thursday 29 July 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

The physicist Steven Weinberg died last week. He wasn’t as famous as Stephen Hawking, but he was arguably nearly as significant, succeeding several decades ago in unifying two of the four fundamental forces into one theoretical framework (the weak nuclear … Continue reading →

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L&C: The Cosmic Ruler

Posted on Wednesday 21 July 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a nice graphic summary of one of the great advances of science (in particular, astronomy) in the past century.

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Ls&Qs: Denying Reality, Rewriting History

Posted on Friday 16 July 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

It gets worse and worse.

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Ls&Cs: Other Ways of Knowing…What?

Posted on Monday 12 July 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

There have been debates for decades among scientists on the one hand and those with no interest in, or who are even hostile to, science, on the other. The latter insist that “other ways of knowing” are as valid as … Continue reading →

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Lewis Thomas’ THE YOUNGEST SCIENCE

Posted on Thursday 1 July 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “Notes of a Medicine-Watcher,” this is a 1983 collection of essays in an autobiographical structure by the author of three acclaimed books of essays, beginning with THE LIVES OF A CELL. (I reviewed the third one here). The startling … Continue reading →

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L&C: Steven Pinker on Steven Johnson

Posted on Wednesday 30 June 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Sometimes a good book review can save you the trouble of reading the book itself — or propel you into reading a book you might otherwise pass over.

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