Category Archives: Thinking

Matthew Shepard and confirmation bias

Posted on Monday 16 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

A new book about Matthew Shepard suggests the story of his murder was far more complex than the gay-bashing narrative that has been assumed. Turns out it can be seen as a prime example of confirmation bias, http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/09/16/challenging-the-myth-of-matthew-shepard/ Comparable, says … Continue reading →

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The One Book I’d Have Every College Student Read

Posted on Thursday 12 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

If I could pick one book that I think every college freshman should read, it would be… LOGIC AND CONTEMPORARY RHETORIC, by Howard Kahane. Subtitled, “The Use of Reason in Everyday Life”. It covers principles of reasoning, invalid and fallacious … Continue reading →

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Does anyone ever change their minds about anything?

Posted on Tuesday 3 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Via Andrew Sullivan Why Even Your Best Arguments Never Work The arguments people make are those that appear the strongest to themselves and the people who already agree with them. But such arguments tend to be meaningless to people who … Continue reading →

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How to Be a Successful Prophet: Applying The Jack Smith Rule

Posted on Wednesday 21 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Jack Smith was a long-time columnist for the Los Angeles Times — here’s his Wikipedia entry — who died in 1996. What I remember after all these years from his reign, as a long-time reader of the LA Times since … Continue reading →

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Plinks: Steven Pinker, Carl Zimmer, Anti-Intellect, History Chart, Weigel on Card

Posted on Monday 19 August 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

A collection of quotes from what I thought were interesting articles and posts and tweets, over the past week or more (I should post more often). (And actually, I’m saving a few for later posts.) Perhaps I will call posts … Continue reading →

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Notes on Daniel Dennett, 1

Posted on Wednesday 24 July 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

I plan to post various kinds of responses to books I’ve read or am reading; some will be reviews, some will be notes with comments. This entry is one of the latter. (Note this only covers the first 60 pages … Continue reading →

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