Category Archives: Technology

Essays by Harari and Chiang

Posted on Wednesday 4 September 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Both about technology, about AI. The Sapiens author has a new book out next week: Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. This is an excerpt. NY Times, Yuval Noah Harari, 4 Sep 2024: … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Technology | Comments Off on Essays by Harari and Chiang

Infrastructure, the Constitution, Changing Minds, and Fringe Items

Posted on Saturday 31 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How expanding America’s highways doesn’t solve their congestion; Ten ways the heat is changing us, including impacts on the infrastructure; Another perspective on issues with the US Constitution; Changing minds, appeals to fear, or persuasion; Fringe items about a fake … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Lunacy, Morality, Science, Technology | Comments Off on Infrastructure, the Constitution, Changing Minds, and Fringe Items

Save the Children?

Posted on Thursday 11 July 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Never mind homeschooling; now there’s a cult of “unschooling”; Nascent thoughts about conservative morality, children, MAGA, and the return to a simpler past — which would be, childhood; How Oklahoma is letting right-wing figures (including David Barton) run its social … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Education, MInd, Religion, Technology | Comments Off on Save the Children?

The Flaw of Math, or Perhaps Just the Limits of Human Cognition

Posted on Saturday 2 March 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Veritasium on math’s fatal flaw, or perhaps just a limitation on the extent humans can understand reality; Considering why cars are built to be able to break the law; A cartoon about religious folks who believe the Bible was written … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Mathematics, Religion, Technology | Comments Off on The Flaw of Math, or Perhaps Just the Limits of Human Cognition

Readings: Carl Sagan; Maggie Jackson

Posted on Sunday 14 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

A 1987 Carl Sagan lecture, just published in 2022, about the protocols of science and government and the need to acknowledge uncertainty; A NYT opinion piece by Maggie Jackson about uncertainty and how to manage it; R.E.M.’s “Leave” Quillette, Steven … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Politics, Psychology, Science, Technology | Comments Off on Readings: Carl Sagan; Maggie Jackson

Household and Hospital Matters

Posted on Thursday 8 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

About Donald A. Norman and a mysterious error message on our stove the other evening; About a mysterious message on our TV, another problem solved by Google; About a hospital visit that didn’t go well.

Posted in Personal history, Technology | Comments Off on Household and Hospital Matters

Moving Toward One Kind of Science-Fictional Future

Posted on Thursday 25 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Working from home vs. commuting, a slow social trend we thought might be temporary, but which may be inevitable, and for the good. I have a laptop connected to two big monitors, but otherwise this photo is apt. My cat … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Human Progress, Technology | Comments Off on Moving Toward One Kind of Science-Fictional Future

Red Herrings, and AI’s effect on Capitalism

Posted on Sunday 14 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items today How Big Oil uses “red herring” issues to deflect attention away from the big issue Ted Chiang on the potential corrosive effect of AI on capitalism Plus, a brief reflection on the SF writers who’ve had things … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Technology | Comments Off on Red Herrings, and AI’s effect on Capitalism

Theory of Mind, UFOs, and Music

Posted on Thursday 6 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Three items today. Do Chatbots have a “theory of mind”? Probably not. Why fascination about UFOs has lingered; my own brief fascination with them when I was 13; and David Brin’s current take on them; How music does not “mean” … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Science, Technology | Comments Off on Theory of Mind, UFOs, and Music

Another Chatbot Shoe Drops

Posted on Saturday 25 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The latest about chatbots, why they would be biased one way or another, and how there is now a conservative version of them; and recalling Conservapedia. Our story so far:

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Lunacy, Technology | Comments Off on Another Chatbot Shoe Drops