Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

A Literary Break

Posted on Friday 17 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Read last week: six short literary novels in five days. Three by Steinbeck; one each by Henry James and James Joyce and Leo Tolstoy. A break from my routine of reading science fiction and current nonfiction.

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To Conservatives, Woke Seems to Mean Whatever They Don’t Like

Posted on Thursday 16 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

So my take on wokeness, a couple weeks ago, as a “perhaps exaggerated respect for the sensitivities of others,” is not what most others mean by “woke.” To some conservatives, it means anything they don’t like or want to acknowledge, … Continue reading →

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Narratives, Vanity, and Empathy

Posted on Wednesday 15 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

A writer named Alissa Quart has a new book out, Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream, that challenges the American myth that one can “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” to succeed all on your own. It’s a fantasy … Continue reading →

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Oscars 2023, 2

Posted on Tuesday 14 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

My takes on the films released in 2022 that we saw, including 8 of the 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees.

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Oscars 2023, 1

Posted on Monday 13 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Lots of items in the news media today about the Oscars, of course. Here’s a typical article about them, followed by some of my reactions, to the awards, and (tomorrow) to some of the individual films. Salon, Melanie McFarland, 13 … Continue reading →

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The Poetry of Reality

Posted on Sunday 12 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Items about Daylight Saving Time, Tucker Carlson, Biblical Errancy, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Richard Dawkins Salon, Nicole Karlis, 12 Mar 2023: Why sleep scientists think Standard Time is best, subtitled “People love the extra hour of sunlight at night, but … Continue reading →

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Modern Science and Literary Wisdom

Posted on Saturday 11 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

and Human Nature and Its Biases and Rationality and The Two Cultures and Consilience. Gregory Feeley, in a friends-only post on Facebook three days ago, linked the two items below and and made some generalizing comments about them.

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Friday Quick Items

Posted on Friday 10 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

About that mask study; about the lab leak theory; and the volume of social media; and about the length of nonfiction books. NY Times, Zeynep Tufekci, 10 Mar 2023: Here’s Why the Science Is Clear That Masks Work

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Today’s Political/Religious Stew

Posted on Thursday 9 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s like a traffic accident; you can’t look away. Recent headlines on political matters as influenced by religion. One particular religion, whose followers apparently do not respect the Constitution (or at least the establishment clause of the First Amendment). The … Continue reading →

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Basic Principles: Passages from Shermer

Posted on Wednesday 8 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

In the closing pages of Michael Shermer’s new book, he quotes Jonathan Rauch’s list, from his book The Constitution of Knowledge, about social rules for turning disagreement into knowledge. Shermer expands upon them, and for one of them provides a … Continue reading →

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