Category Archives: Social Progress

Recent Headlines, 7 Sept 2022

Posted on Wednesday 7 September 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Busy with things including the heat. For now headlines from the past few days, lightly commented. I’ve skimmed them at best; some I will revisit and comment further. About not following your gut; the past 150 years of human history; … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Education, Human Progress, Links & Comments, Narrative, Psychology, Social Progress | Comments Off on Recent Headlines, 7 Sept 2022

Son of Longtermism

Posted on Monday 22 August 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Comments Off on Son of Longtermism

Links and Comments: Some Good News, and the FBI

Posted on Tuesday 9 August 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Some recent news is actually quite good.

Posted in Links & Comments, Politics, Social Progress | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Some Good News, and the FBI

Fiddler on the Roof

Posted on Thursday 7 July 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Over the past couple evenings we’ve watched the movie version of a musical I had never seen before, in any form: Fiddler on the Roof. I was aware it was a big-hit musical, back in the 1960s or ’70s, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Music, Social Progress | Comments Off on Fiddler on the Roof

Musings: The Sky; Living in History

Posted on Wednesday 18 May 2022 by Mark R. Kelly
Posted in Science, Social Progress | Comments Off on Musings: The Sky; Living in History

LQCs: Jonathan Haidt on the Corrosive Effects of Social Media

Posted on Monday 18 April 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

The Atlantic website has a long essay (some 5000 words at an estimate) by Jonathan Haidt, to appear in the May 2022 print edition. The Atlantic, Jonathan Haidt, 11 April 2022: Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Social Progress | Comments Off on LQCs: Jonathan Haidt on the Corrosive Effects of Social Media

LQCs: More about DST and the effects on US states

Posted on Thursday 17 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Maps of how DST would affect US states, and commentaries.

Posted in Links & Comments, Science, Social Progress | Comments Off on LQCs: More about DST and the effects on US states

LQCs: Legislating Reality: Redefining “Noon”

Posted on Tuesday 15 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

A bill passed the Senate today to make Daylight Saving [not Savings] Time permanent. This, in effect, would redefine noon, in the US, to be the time of day indicated by 1pm on the clock. This is, in effect, changing … Continue reading →

Posted in Links & Comments, Science, Social Progress | Comments Off on LQCs: Legislating Reality: Redefining “Noon”

Berlin in 1993; The Dark 21st Century; Wordle

Posted on Friday 18 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s L&Qs&Cs, about where the 21st century is heading after the optimism of the 1990s, with a recollection about being in Berlin in 1993. Today’s endpiece, about Wordle.

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Games, Music, Personal history, Social Progress | Comments Off on Berlin in 1993; The Dark 21st Century; Wordle

Graduation

Posted on Wednesday 12 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Today I finished, or ‘graduated,’ my cardiac therapy program. It went for 36 sessions (the most that insurance covers, apparently), and began the Wednesday after Labor Day, but what with the facility’s shutdown for a month due to plumbing issues, … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Social Progress | Comments Off on Graduation