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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Category Archives: Book Notes
Sagan & Druyan: Propensities and Predispositions
A couple hours ago I finished that Carl Sagan/Ann Druyan book I mentioned a couple days ago, and it’s remarkable how its conclusions resemble my own recent observations about how certain forms of human morality align to conservative politics, and … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Conservative Resistance, Evolution, Human Progress, Quote at Length, Science
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Truth or Consequences
Why Republicans would want to defund the IRS, the DOJ, and the FBI; Cory Doctorow’s quick take on this theme in his latest novel; A new book about fearmongering; How conspiracy theories are driven by profit, not truth or honesty … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Conservative Resistance, Politics, Psychology
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Last Questions and Possible Answers, 2
This is a sequel to a post I did back in March, Last Questions and Possible Answers, 1, in which I considered the John Brockman book The Last Unknowns, in which he gathers deep unanswered questions about “the universe, the … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy, Science
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Robert Reich Speaks, Writes, and Cartoons
More about Robert Reich’s appearance at UC Berkeley last night; and summary notes about his book Economics in Wonderland.
Posted in Book Notes, Economics
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About New Books by Phil Plait and Jamie Green
Phil Plait’s Under Alien Skies Jamie Green’s The Possibility of Life And a Facebook cartoon about the cynicism of anti-intellectuals Phil Plait on John Scalzi’s blog today, about his new book Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer’s Guide to the Universe, … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, Book Notes, Cosmology, Lunacy, science fiction
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Enid Blyton via Sarah Bakewell
I mentioned Sarah Bakewell in my post of March 29th, for two reviews of her new book on the history and meaning of humanism, Humanly Possible, a very long book on one of my primary interests, but so long that … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Personal history
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Last Questions and Possible Answers, 1
When I was browsing through several John Brockman books a few weeks ago, I decided to buy the last one he published in that series, from 2019. It’s called The Last Unknowns, and instead of gathering answers from many contributors … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy, Science
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A Literary Break
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.
Posted in Book Notes, Culture
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Basic Principles: Passages from Shermer
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
Posted in Book Notes, Morality, Quote at Length, Science
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Michael Shermer: CONSPIRACY: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational
Michael Shermer’s latest book, a thorough account of why people believe conspiracy theories, why it might be beneficial (for evolutionary reasons) to give them the benefit of the doubt (even if they’re not true), with some deep dives into several … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Psychology
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