Monthly Archives: August 2026

The Deep History Key to the American Political Divide

Posted on Thursday 13 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

First up, a NYT Op-ed NY Times, Kurt Andersen, 9 Aug 2026: Has America Already Undergone a Soft Breakup? (I see NYT now says I have “unlimited” gift articles to share, while for the past couple years at least it’s … Continue reading →

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MAGA Art Slop; Ignoring the Data

Posted on Wednesday 12 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

MAGA taste in art, and a new exhibit in Washington DC; More Republican destruction: the US Census, and monitoring the Arctic; Maybe they don’t believe they’re lying, they just don’t know the difference between lies and truth; Robert Reich on … Continue reading →

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Yuval Noah Harari: UNSTOPPABLE US, Vol. 3

Posted on Wednesday 12 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “How Enemies Become Friends” (Bright Matter Books, February 2026, xxi + 181pp) Here is the third of Harari’s world’s-history-for-children books, taking a 30,000-foot view of the big changes over the millennia of human history. Each book has four chapters. … Continue reading →

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The Mathematics of Beauty

Posted on Tuesday 11 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How mathematics is behind the things we perceive as beautiful, via Marcus du Sautoy; What is Trump trying to accomplish by reducing the number of diseases medicine can prevent children from getting?; Several items show confusion on the right between … Continue reading →

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Faith Excuses Everything; Process Models Accomplish Things

Posted on Monday 10 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

By way of Jerry Coyne and Jason Arday, comments from Richard Dawkins about physics, natural selection, and human intuition; To JD Vance, a tumbling glass is evidence of God; Conservatives hate social responsibility, e.g. they would repeal helmet laws; A … Continue reading →

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Understanding Reality; the Capability Immaturity Model

Posted on Sunday 9 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Jim Palmer on the assumptions we make in trying to understand reality; Science academy axes climate section from manual for federal judges; About a “capability model” for immaturity. – – – Let’s return to one of Jim Palmer’s long essays … Continue reading →

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Understanding vs. Blaming, Bad-Faith Arguments, Religion as Rank Tribalism, and Short-term vs Long-Term Thinking

Posted on Saturday 8 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Conservatives attacking Fauci aren’t interested in learning; Paul Krugman on how a bad-faith government is also an incompetent government; MAGA prophet is sure God is going to start killing people he doesn’t like; Democratic policy goals are hard sells against … Continue reading →

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Arthur Brooks and Gary Snyder: Meaning and Wilderness

Posted on Friday 7 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Arthur Brooks on meaning and happiness (with my aside about the Ship of Theseus); Adam Frank on the poet Gary Snyder and the value of wilderness. – – – All right, let’s read Arthur Brooks again. Big Think, interview with … Continue reading →

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Little House on the Prairie, and Presumptions

Posted on Thursday 6 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

About the new Little House on the Prairie; Short items: GOP melts down over Abdul El-Sayed; Trump is learning to be embarrassed; MSM covers heat events without mentioning climate change; Heritage Foundation thinks Fauci proves we should ignore experts; an … Continue reading →

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Tearing Down, and Tricksters

Posted on Wednesday 5 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How Big Business is abandoning climate commitments; Attacks on the Endangered Species Act, and critical thinking; Trump thinks blue states are a threat to the nation; and about his irrationality; How to deal with uncertainty (and the conservatives who refuse … Continue reading →

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