Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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Meta
Category Archives: Atheism
Conservative Fantasies: Boogeymen and Groomers
Robert Reich on the resurgence of anti-science fundamentalism, recalling again that Scopes trial; A 60 Minutes interview with the founders of Moms for Liberty, which apparently did not go well; How Trump and his follows believe in dystopian fantasies; Short … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Religion, Science
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A Rainy, Foggy Day in the Bay Area
We got our walk in today during a break in the rain; when it started again, it turned to fog. (Meanwhile, making significant progress on the next expansion of sfadb.com today. Real soon now.) Various items for today; catching up … Continue reading
Michel Onfray, ATHEIST MANIFESTO, post 2
Finishing my summary and comments about this book. (From here on I’m preserving the author’s chapter section breaks, with titles, to illustrate the structure of the book…)
Posted in Atheism, Book Notes, Religion
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Nonfiction Notes: Alex Rosenberg’s THE ATHEIST’S GUIDE TO REALITY
Alex Rosenberg, The Atheist’s Guide to Reality: Enjoying Life Without Delusions (2001, Norton) Here’s another book I’ve had since it was published but only got around to reading this past year. This is a book about taking reality at face … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Book Notes, Science
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Links and Comments: World Getting Better; Choosing What to Believe; Questions for Atheists; Mathematical Ideas; Trumpian Cruelty
Vox: 23 charts and maps that show the world is getting much, much better. From 2014, but updated this month. These data echo the theme of Steven Pinker’s recent books. File under: human progress, despite conservative paranoia and fears \\ … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Conservative Resistance, Human Progress, Mathematics, Psychology
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Tim Crane, THE MEANING OF BELIEF
Subtitled: Religion from an Atheist’s Point of View This is a small volume that appeared in 2017 and was well-reviewed in the New York Times. The author is a philosopher, and as the subtitle indicates an atheist (he denies the … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Book Notes, Religion
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A Very Short Book by A.C. Grayling
A.C. Grayling, AGAINST ALL GODS (2007), subtitled “Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness” I saw this referenced from Tim Crane’s book that I mentioned a couple posts ago, and ordered it without realizing that it’s very short, … Continue reading
Links and Comments: Philip Pullman meets Matthew Hutson
There was a big profile of Philip Pullman in the New York Times Magazine a couple weeks ago– Philip Pullman Returns to His Fantasy World — on the occasion of the first book in his new trilogy that parallels his … Continue reading
Links and Comments: Rules to Escape Trump’s Moral Rot; Escaping New Atheism(?); Optimistic Nihilism
William Saletan, at Slate, takes inspiration from John McCain’s recent speech, during last week’s health care debate: Words to Live By. Subtitle: “McCain’s speech gives us a map for escaping the moral rot of Trumpism.” He says, “To escape the … Continue reading
Links and Comments: Friedman on historical change, why evangelicals like Trump, Paulos on math and biography, Gawande on science, the case against reality
Today in NYT, Thomas L. Friedman: Another Age of Discovery. Friedman lets Ian Goldin, co-author of a book about the lessons we can draw from the period of 1450 to 1550, i.e. a period of extraordinary change. Then: Gutenberg undermined … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Culture, Mathematics, Science
Comments Off on Links and Comments: Friedman on historical change, why evangelicals like Trump, Paulos on math and biography, Gawande on science, the case against reality