Monthly Archives: January 2024

Another Orion Photo

Posted on 31 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Plus: The wackadoodle conspiracy theory about Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl; Items about why Trump is blocking the border deal; how Trump would destroy the American-led world order; why Republicans are killing the border deal; and a handy guide … Continue reading →

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Those Who Believe Things that Are Not True, and Those Who Try Not To

Posted on 30 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

There’s a spectrum of people from those who settle into narratives, believing things that are not true, and those who try to escape those narratives and try to perceive the real world; Paul Krugman on how MAGA is not grounded … Continue reading →

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How Humans Select Particular Stories Over Reality

Posted on 29 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

As I mentioned in Thursday’s post, I keep finding books in my library that could be considered straight-out philosophy (e.g. on ethics and morality) or at least philosophy-adjacent (some of the more abstruse physics and evolutionary texts, in the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Narrative, Psychology, Religion | Leave a comment

Humans Live By Telling Stories That Privilege Themselves

Posted on 28 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

About Holocaust deniers; About measles deniers; About denial of sociology; About the appeal of extinction panic. Salon, Gary M. Kramer, 25 Jan 2024: “There will always be Holocaust deniers”: How “Zone of Interest” reveals unsettling truths about us, subtitled “The … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Narrative | Leave a comment

Odds and Ends…

Posted on 27 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How journalism may never again make money; Keeping lists of books you’re read; Decoding the Mandelbrot set. More links collected the past week or so, today non-political ones. Washington Post, Perry Bacon Jr., 27 Jan 2024: Opinion | Journalism may … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Economics, Mathematics | Leave a comment

Dredging the Fringe

Posted on 26 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

After two posts on intellectual topics, books, let’s check back in with the fringe, perhaps in a more condensed manner than I usually do. I’ve said several times that Republicans are interested only in solving imaginary problems (wokeness, CRT), not … Continue reading →

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Edward Craig: PHILOSOPHY: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION

Posted on 25 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Proceeding with my foray into philosophy a bit discursively — not yet one of the big histories — I begin with the ‘very short introduction’ I displayed in my initial philosophy post back on 12 January. This is a volume … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy, Science | Leave a comment

Adam Frank, THE LITTLE BOOK OF ALIENS

Posted on 24 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s what looked like a fun, occasional book: a popular summary of a popular topic that’s well-known among followers of science and of science fiction. I bought it to glance through, not necessarily read through. But then I heard the … Continue reading →

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Healthy, Yet Furrowing My Eyebrows

Posted on 23 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Today, another trip into the city, to CMPC, to see one of the cardiologists and status my health, two years and eight months after my heart transplant. Had bloodwork done last Friday, and chest X-ray, and echo-cardiogram done today just … Continue reading →

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Late Afternoon and the House is Warm

Posted on 22 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Another storm blowing through the Bay Area today. Jets are flying into SFO from the north, a rare circumstance. (I can see them from our balcony.) Our three kitties lie near me in my living room office, to be near … Continue reading →

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