Monthly Archives: September 2026

Hiking is a Modern Invention

Posted on Sunday 13 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The idea of hiking was not a thing until relatively recently; How Trump is stifling free speech; Brief items about hurricanes and methane; Nice Brucker 6 performance by Myung-Whun Chung. – – – First, a think piece. About how the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Human Nature, Music, Politics | Leave a comment

How the Terrorists Won, in a Sense

Posted on Saturday 12 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Not many say this, but a few always have, especially when passing through the airport security checks involving magnetometers, physical carry-on bag searches, removal of belts and shoes. “The terrorists won.” Look what they’ve made us do. Look how they’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Human Progress, Movies, Music, Religion | Leave a comment

Tribalists, Bribes, 9/11 and Tyranny, Fear, and Cheating

Posted on Friday 11 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

So now I’m reading David Pakman’s book from last year (this one) after several months of seeing his clips on Facebook of commentary about daily politics. The first chapter aligns neatly with Heather Cox Richardson’s history of 20th century American … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Human Nature, Morality, Politics | Leave a comment

Jamie Whyte: CRIMES AGAINST LOGIC

Posted on Friday 11 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: Exposing the Bogus Arguments of Politicians, Priests, Journalists, and Other Serial Offenders (UK 2003 as Bad Thoughts: A Guide to Clear Thinking; US edition here McGraw-Hill, 2005, xi + 157pp; no index) Here’s a small book from the mid-2000s … Continue reading →

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

Rejecting Reality, and Truth

Posted on Thursday 10 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Salon, Troy Farah, today: Our world map is wrong. MAGA likes it that way, subtitled “Because the US rejects reality, it voted against the UN’s Correct the Map plan” Excerpts: Perhaps this resolution wasn’t as minor as it seemed at … Continue reading →

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Neil deGrasse Tyson with James Trefil: COSMIC QUERIES

Posted on Thursday 10 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: StarTalk’s Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going (National Geographic, 2021, 311pp, including 22pp acknowledgements, further reading, illustrations credits, index, and about the authors.) Like Tyson’s one-year later book, TO INFINITY AND BEYOND … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Book Notes, Cosmology, Science | Leave a comment

The Battle

Posted on Wednesday 9 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Heather Cox Richardson has told this story. (See my review.) NY Times, Jonathan Kaufman, today: Blame Ronald Reagan Richardson told of a so-called “liberal consensus” arising out of the post-World War II era that was steadily attacked by conservatives, especially … Continue reading →

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Adam Kirsch: THE REVOLT AGAINST HUMANITY

Posted on Wednesday 9 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: Imagining a Future Without Us (Columbia Global Reports, 2023, 100pp, including 2pp of further reading.) Here’s a small book with some provocative ideas I didn’t anticipate from the title. It’s from a publishing imprint of Columbia University called Columbia … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Human Nature, Human Progress, Meaning | Leave a comment

Star Trek at 60

Posted on Tuesday 8 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

NPR, today: 60 years later, ‘Star Trek’ continues to ‘live long and prosper’ and LA Times, today: ‘Star Trek’ is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Why its optimistic vision of the future endures As “Star Trek” marks 60 years, the creatives, … Continue reading →

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Is the World Becoming Too Complex for Ordinary Human Cognition?

Posted on Monday 7 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s more about the new book about the so-called “time tax.” The Atlantic, Adam Harris, today: How the Government Wastes Our Time, subtitled “What do we lose in the hours spent filling out paperwork?” Americans are bogged down in paperwork … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Human Nature | Leave a comment