Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Notes for the Book: Hierarchy of Knowledge and Human Affairs

Posted on 30 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Everything you need to understand the reality of the world, as discovered over centuries, and especially in the past century and past few decades, is out there, available to you. All the mysteries of the ancient world have been explored, … Continue reading →

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Heinlein’s First: For Us, the Living

Posted on 30 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Almost on a lark, I picked up the first novel by Robert A. Heinlein the other day, and read through it. It’s a fascinating book on several levels. First, it’s Heinlein first novel in that it’s the first one he … Continue reading →

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Notes for the Book: A Hierarchy of Understanding

Posted on 28 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Next, a hierarchy of stages about the extent to any of us understands the universe. (Which is distinct from simply being aware of it, though it overlaps it somewhat.) At the base level is the understanding of primitive tribes about … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Wars on Science; Epistemology; Conspiracy Theories

Posted on 27 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

A facebook friend comments: “Research” isn’t just googling to find someone saying what you want to hear. That’s confirmation bias, and cherry picking. \\ My own thought, a week ago: The big political conflicts aren’t about asking the same questions … Continue reading →

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Link and Comments: Ezra Klein on the Psychology of Coronavirus Response

Posted on 23 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Vox: Why are liberals more afraid of the coronavirus than conservatives?: Covid-19 and the complex politics of fear. By Ezra Klein, co-founder and editor-at-large of Vox (and whose recent book, WHY WE’RE POLARIZED, I’ve just begun reading). Good question. You’d … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Loners, Law and Religion, Our Anti-Science Leaders, the Roots of Science Denial

Posted on 23 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Atlantic: How Loners Are an Evolutionary Insurance Policy This echoes my comments about how diversity is needed in the human race because different attitudes and skills may be needed in situations that require different ways to survive. Though the article … Continue reading →

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Notes for the Book: a Hierarchy of Awareness

Posted on 22 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s another theme that will inform my book, if I survive to write it. Our understanding of the universe, our understanding of physics and biology, of deep history, is biased by the way we learn to understand and think about … Continue reading →

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Notes for the Book: Simplex, Complex, Multiplex

Posted on 21 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Several themes are starting to gel, so perhaps I’ll record some of my current thoughts as they now stand. Just the act of writing a blog post helps me organize and clarify them. I still find myself learning: almost every … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Conspiracies! Conspiracies!

Posted on 20 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Over the past several weeks there’s been an outbreak of stories and articles in the various legitimate media (New York Times, NPR, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, et al) about conspiracy theories related to the coronavirus pandemic. So many articles! … Continue reading →

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More Standard SF Furniture: Robert Silverberg’s The 13th Immortal

Posted on 16 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

As I said in my previous post, I suspended reading for some weeks once the coronavirus lockdown began, in mid-March; things were too unsettled and uncertain to allow for the indulgence of sitting down and turning inward into a book. … Continue reading →

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