Monthly Archives: August 2026

Caro Claire Burke, YESTERYEAR

Posted on Monday 17 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

(Knopf, April 2026, 391pp) I read the bestselling novel YESTERYEAR, by Caro Claire Burke, three weekends ago, on a trip to LA to spend time with family on the occasion of a 1st birthday and a new house, and it … Continue reading →

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Fantasy Lands

Posted on Sunday 16 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Andrew O’Hehir on how few people understand the differences between socialism, capitalism, and all those other isms, as even MAGA embraces socialist ideas; Mark Joseph Stern on the origin of originalist ideas about the US Constitution; Jamelle Boudie on how … Continue reading →

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David Brin’s Phases of the American Civil War

Posted on Saturday 15 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Still under the weather, for a week now. I’m behind updating sfadb. I spent some time this afternoon refining yesterday’s post. For now, not entirely irrelevant: Brin has long portrayed American history as the same kind of transition between modes … Continue reading →

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The Expansion of Human Morality, the Relativity of Good and Evil

Posted on Friday 14 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Further thoughts on the evolutionary forces behind the expansion of human morality; Thought while reading Stephen King’s THE STAND; And further thoughts about human morality, and how conservative and progressive stances have been appropriate at different times; Heather Digby Parton … Continue reading →

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The Deep History Key to the American Political Divide

Posted on Thursday 13 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Kurt Andersen on America’s soft breakup; How the divide goes back ultimately to the Agricultural Revolution. – – – First up, a NYT Op-ed NY Times, Kurt Andersen, 9 Aug 2026: Has America Already Undergone a Soft Breakup?

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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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