Search Results for: how the mind works

The Overton Window of Deviance

Posted on Wednesday 20 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Amanda Marcotte on how Christians seem not bothered by the immorality of Trump or his Cabinet picks; Bret Stephens on defining deviancy down; Timothy Snyder on how Trump is actually a fascist — and how fascists use narratives; David French … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Human Nature, Lunacy, Politics | Leave a comment

A Little Knowledge… Is a Dangerous Thing

Posted on Saturday 16 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Imagine that you work for a company that does any kind of specialty work, anything at all — urban planning, furniture making, aerospace design — and for some reason the company’s owner dies and his aunt inherits the entire company … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Science | Leave a comment

The Parochial and the Cosmic

Posted on Sunday 10 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Our mistake was thinking we lived in a better country than we do; The US has lost faith in the American dream; Connie Willis’s detailed daily political summaries are now at CW Daily on Facebook; With today a dozen or … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, conservatives, Cosmology, Politics | Comments Off on The Parochial and the Cosmic

César Hidalgo, WHY INFORMATION GROWS

Posted on Monday 4 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies” (Basic Books, 2015, xxi + 232 pp, including 51pp of acknowledgements, notes, and index) A few weeks ago I sat down to read the new Yuval Noah Harari book, NEXUS, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Cosmology, Economics, Evolution | Comments Off on César Hidalgo, WHY INFORMATION GROWS

Prothero: WHY LIBERALS WIN THE CULTURE WARS…

Posted on Saturday 2 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

(EVEN WHEN THEY LOSE ELECTIONS), subtitled “The Battles That Define America from Jefferson’s Heresies to Gay Marriage” (HarperOne, Oct 2016, 326pp, including 62p acknowledgements, notes, and index.) I’ve mentioned this book a few times, the first time even before it … Continue reading →

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It Has to Make Sense, Somehow

Posted on Tuesday 22 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Reich wonders how this race can still be tied, and reflects on bullies; With relevant items about Charlie Kirk, and Russian operatives, and a scamvangelist; An extensive guide to Trump’s lifetime of scandals; A video about the actual integrity … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Politics, Religion | Comments Off on It Has to Make Sense, Somehow

Factory Settings

Posted on Sunday 20 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

The idea of “factory settings” as describing base human nature, and how some people can transcend them; A woman wonders if religion is the only way to instill her child with “scaffolding for spirituality and morality” (answer: no); Richard Dawkins … Continue reading →

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Out of Commission

Posted on Wednesday 16 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

More examples of Trump as the rambling, incoherent traitor; How people trust Trump on the economy because he oversimplifies things, and conservatives don’t do complexity or nuance; Thomas B. Edsall on Trump’s appeal to racists; A Florida Republican who thinks … Continue reading →

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The Christian Authoritarian Agenda

Posted on Thursday 10 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Long before Project 2025, Christian conservatives have had an agenda to impose their values on everyone; How some conservatives will call any evidence about the good economy fake news; How MAGA disinformation can be deadly, but Trump’s followers would rather … Continue reading →

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Skiffy Flix: The Day the Earth Stood Still

Posted on Wednesday 9 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Of all the 1950s science fiction films, this one is arguably the most profound, the least typical, and the most liberal. It involves an alien arriving on Earth, but he is not hostile, despite the knee-jerk fears of the military … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, science fiction, Skiffy Flix | Comments Off on Skiffy Flix: The Day the Earth Stood Still