Monthly Archives: October 2018

Links and Comments: World Getting Better; Choosing What to Believe; Questions for Atheists; Mathematical Ideas; Trumpian Cruelty

Vox: 23 charts and maps that show the world is getting much, much better. From 2014, but updated this month. These data echo the theme of Steven Pinker’s recent books. File under: human progress, despite conservative paranoia and fears \\ … Continue reading

Posted in Atheism, Conservative Resistance, Human Progress, Mathematics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: World Getting Better; Choosing What to Believe; Questions for Atheists; Mathematical Ideas; Trumpian Cruelty

Links and Comments: Unread Books; Psychology and Logic; GOP Paranoia; Political Extremes

From recent weeks’ NYT. Essay by Kevin Mims: All Those Books You’ve Bought but Haven’t Read? There’s a Word for That. The print title, October 14, was “The Importance of Unread Books” subtitled “Why a personal library should include books … Continue reading

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Unread Books; Psychology and Logic; GOP Paranoia; Political Extremes

Links and Comments: Psychology and Economics; SF and Fantasy

Several items from Sunday’s NYT. First a review of a new book by Steven Johnson, FARSIGHTED: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most; the review is by Adam Grant: How Do We Make the Long-Term Decisions That Matter?. … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Psychology, science fiction | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Psychology and Economics; SF and Fantasy

Trump and Kavanaugh, Conservatives and Tribal Politics

It’s not so much about fundamental disagreements between conservatives and liberals, reactionaries and progressives, (let alone the simplistic take about good vs. evil), as about social reaction to change… the changing demographic of the United States, and the inevitable expansion … Continue reading

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics | Comments Off on Trump and Kavanaugh, Conservatives and Tribal Politics