Category Archives: Book Notes

Sibley Volcanic Park; the Doctrine of Discovery

Posted on 10 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today — yet another pleasant day in the Bay Area, sunny and 74 degrees Fahrenheit — we went for a hike in the Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, an area in the hills north of us where an actual volcano erupted … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, History, Personal history | Leave a comment

Sagan & Druyan: Propensities and Predispositions

Posted on 4 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

Truth or Consequences

Posted on 14 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

Last Questions and Possible Answers, 2

Posted on 2 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

Robert Reich Speaks, Writes, and Cartoons

Posted on 25 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

About New Books by Phil Plait and Jamie Green

Posted on 19 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

Enid Blyton via Sarah Bakewell

Posted on 10 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 →

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Last Questions and Possible Answers, 1

Posted on 24 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

A Literary Break

Posted on 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.

Posted in Book Notes, Culture | Leave a comment

Basic Principles: Passages from Shermer

Posted on 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 →

Posted in Book Notes, Morality, Quote at Length, Science | Leave a comment