Monthly Archives: September 2017

Link and Comments: SF and Science

Posted on 11 September 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate has an interesting essay by Lawrence Krauss that covers basic points about how science fiction doesn’t/can’t truly predict the future, with an interesting point how the internet arose as a tool to coordinate very complex scientific experiments: Indeed, perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, science fiction | Comments Off on Link and Comments: SF and Science

Links and Comments: Marcotte on Trump, and Evangelicals

Posted on 11 September 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s becoming more and more clear that Trump has no values, no ideals, no standards. He’s only about making deals, and he’s willing to align himself with anyone to make deals, no matter for what, no matter with whom. Salon, … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Marcotte on Trump, and Evangelicals

Wright: Nonzero: Intro and Chapter 1

Posted on 7 September 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve decided to tackle three or four substantial nonfiction books, over the next few weeks, in the manner of reading books for college courses — that is, alternating among them over a quarter or semester-like period of 8 to 10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Human Progress, Robert Wright | Comments Off on Wright: Nonzero: Intro and Chapter 1

Pinker: Better Angels: Passages and Outline from the Preface

Posted on 6 September 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

This is Steven Pinker’s big 2011 book, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, that takes a long-range view of human history to show that the human condition, over millennia and especially in recent centuries and decades, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Culture, Evolution, Human Progress, Humanism, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Pinker: Better Angels: Passages and Outline from the Preface