Search Results for: how the mind works

Christmas Stories

Posted on Sunday 25 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Over Friday and Saturday evenings we watched Miracle on 34th Street for the first time in a couple decades. (I’m not sure if Y had ever seen it.) After such time goes by, you see things in a film or … Continue reading →

Posted in Narrative, Personal history | Comments Off on Christmas Stories

Longtermism (and Science Fiction), part 2

Posted on Wednesday 14 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

More about “longermism,” Effective Altruism, how they relate to science fiction, and whether or not books can be reduced to six-paragraph summaries.

Posted in longtermism, Philosophy, science fiction | Comments Off on Longtermism (and Science Fiction), part 2

No Escaping Tribal Warfare

Posted on Monday 12 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Items today about Hasidic yeshiva schools, “common good constitutionalism,” the root cause of violent crime, and the increasingly despicable Elon Musk. We like to think modern society is more advanced than societies of thousands of years ago, and it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Politics | Comments Off on No Escaping Tribal Warfare

Three Interesting Books That I Probably Won’t Read

Posted on Thursday 10 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

About free markets, the fundamentals of biology, and unsustainable growth. And I probably won’t read them simply because I have so many other books to read, such as the few on a bookcase just to the left of my computer … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Economics | Comments Off on Three Interesting Books That I Probably Won’t Read

Neil deGrasse Tyson; Gregory Berns; the Myth of a Lost Golden Age

Posted on Friday 14 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Science | Comments Off on Neil deGrasse Tyson; Gregory Berns; the Myth of a Lost Golden Age

Jim Al-Khalili, The Joy of Science

Posted on Wednesday 12 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a short little book that is basic but substantive. Familiar yet essential. Frankly, if I had seen it in a bookstore, I would have glanced through it and likely set it back down. Seeing it online made it difficult … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy, Science | Comments Off on Jim Al-Khalili, The Joy of Science

Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility, and Its Reviews

Posted on Tuesday 11 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

This is what would be called a “literary science fiction” novel in that it’s clearly SF yet is written by a writer with a “literary” background rather than one in the SF genre, and so whose approach would be expected … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, science fiction | Comments Off on Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility, and Its Reviews

First October: Links and Comments

Posted on Saturday 1 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Old Teeth, Hurricanes, Government support for me not thee, Andy Borowitz, Liz Truss

Posted in Politics, Science | Comments Off on First October: Links and Comments

Kasner & Newman, MATHEMATICS AND THE IMAGINATION

Posted on Friday 30 September 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Here is another older book out of my library, one to set alongside George Gamow’s One Two Three… Infinity, which I reviewed back in August. This book is even older. Published in 1940, this is Mathematics and the Imagination, by … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Mathematics | Comments Off on Kasner & Newman, MATHEMATICS AND THE IMAGINATION

Today’s Headlines, 8 Sept 2022

Posted on Thursday 8 September 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Queen and empire; Religious employers against health care; Republicans making fun of sick people; Lebanon as America’s future under Trumpers; MAGA invokes 1st century BC; Another lame right-wing movie; Why American lives are getting shorter; The indefensible claims of “2,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Links & Comments, Movies, Politics, The Gays | Comments Off on Today’s Headlines, 8 Sept 2022