Category Archives: Science

Jaime Green, THE POSSIBILITY OF LIFE

Posted on Tuesday 9 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Here is a book published about a year ago now that turns out to be very similar, thematically, to the more recent book by Adam Frank, The Little Book of Aliens, that I reviewed here in January. That book was … Continue reading →

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Eclipse Aftermath, and Politics

Posted on Monday 8 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

First of all, our street had a scheduled power outage this morning, from 9-12, so I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to see any of the TV coverage of the total eclipse crossing the eastern US today. There were … Continue reading →

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The Awe of the Solar Eclipse

Posted on Sunday 7 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Three items today. Addressing a piece that claims that the awe of the solar eclipse, tomorrow, will somehow unite humanity (I think not; it hasn’t before); Another appreciation of Daniel Kahneman, who explained how humans think, and established the idea … Continue reading →

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Conspiracy Theories: Solar Eclipse Edition

Posted on Friday 5 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Salon on how solar eclipses are a breeding ground for conspiracy theories; Rolling Stone on how the far right is subject to conspiracy theories; Free Inquiry on why solar eclipses are nowhere close to being evidence of a creator. While … Continue reading →

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Imagine Prioritizing Truth Over Being Right

Posted on Wednesday 3 April 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s an amazing notion: there are some people who would rather find the truth, than be right. These are the scientists — some of them, anyway. This concerns Daniel Kahneman, whose death I noted a week ago here. NY Times, … Continue reading →

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Putting Things Into Perspective: Science, Expertise, Liberalism

Posted on Friday 22 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Items today are follow-ups to items from the past couple days, it turns out. Ethan Siegel at Big Think puts that dark matter claim into the perspective of how science works; Tom Nichols’ update of The Death of Expertise aligns … Continue reading →

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That Potential Revolutionary Scientific Reinterpretation? Never Mind.

Posted on Wednesday 20 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

That Potential Revolutionary Scientific Reinterpretation I posted about four days ago does not seem to have played out (but that’s how science works); A nice summary of the top five astronomical discoveries of all time (so far); And a dicier … Continue reading →

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EO Wilson, CONSILIENCE, 11

Posted on Wednesday 20 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Chapter 12, To What End? Wilson’s final chapter ponders options for humanity’s future, and comes down on the side of “existential conservatism.” And since it is about humanity’s future, the chapter has some things to say about the themes of … Continue reading →

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EO Wilson, CONSILIENCE, 10

Posted on Monday 18 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Chapter 11, Ethics and Religion The chapter in the book that would most challenge conservatives, or anyone who thinks morality and religion are handed down from on high. Key points in this chapter: On ethics: Author summarizes arguments on both … Continue reading →

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A Potential Revolutionary Scientific Reinterpretation

Posted on Saturday 16 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

No one thinks that all of physics, or cosmology, is solved; the reigning problems in cosmology include contradictory conclusions about the age of the universe, and the nature of “dark matter” and “dark energy,” both terms being placeholders for unknown … Continue reading →

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