Category Archives: Book Notes

Michael Shermer: CONSPIRACY: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational

Posted on 6 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 →

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Brockman, This Explains Everything, 1

Posted on 18 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Key topics so far: Evolution by means of natural selection. How life is a digital code. Reflective equilibrium and the evolution of non-objective morality. How evolution explains the conflicts in human social life. And how levels of such “variation-selection processes” … Continue reading →

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Dacher Keltner, AWE: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life

Posted on 7 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

This is a book about the subjective experience of awe, and how being aware of everyday examples of awe can make your life more meaningful and fulfilling; yet how (in my take) it’s about the emotion, triggered by both the … Continue reading →

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Varieties of Fantasy, and Book Notes

Posted on 4 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s three topics: A conservative’s take on a fantasy novel; A Le Guin fantasy novel; And insights into books by Heinlein and Brockman.

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Recent Book Lists

Posted on 1 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Three items for today: a list of “influential” science fiction works, a list of nonfiction books that changed minds, and Elon Musk’s books he thinks everyone should read.

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Third Culture Books; Perceptions and Reality

Posted on 31 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s three topics: A new Michael Shermer book I missed when it came out last October; How magenta is a color that doesn’t exist on the spectrum; Public perceptions of the economy. There are authors I’ve followed for years, both … Continue reading →

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The Moral Arc and Animals, Animal Intelligence, and People Who Don’t Read Books

Posted on 26 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Just these three topics for today, one focusing on Ray Nayler’s SF novel The Mountain in the Sea.

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Michael Shermer: THE MORAL ARC

Posted on 23 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom (Henry Holt, January 2015, 541pp, including 55pp of notes, 30pp of bibliography, and 15pp of acknowledgments and index) This is Michael Shermer’s magnus opus, perhaps, culminating a running … Continue reading →

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Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress, OBSERVER

Posted on 22 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

(The Story Plant, January 2023, 380pp) This is a hard science fiction thriller that impressed me in many ways, though I’m not a regular reader of thrillers per se and perhaps am not in a position to judge the book … Continue reading →

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Yuval Noah Harari, UNSTOPPABLE US

Posted on 12 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a book I read near the end of last year that, like the Dawkins book recently reviewed, is a book directed at young people. Like the Dawkins, it’s heavily illustrated; unlike that, Harari’s book is essentially a rewrite of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Evolution | Leave a comment