Category Archives: Culture

Interesting Links This Weekend

Posted on Sunday 13 April 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

There’s *another* great science show running [in addition to “Cosmos”], “Your Inner Fish”, based on the book by Neil Shubin, which explores the physiological resemblances among animals, from fishies to humans, that are of course one of the many lines … Continue reading →

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Mind/Brain and Mathematical Intelligence

Posted on Saturday 12 April 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Several interesting links today to articles I’ve not yet had a chance to read, but I’ll defer those to note this review in Entertainment Weekly of a book called Struck by Genius by Jason Padgett (and Maureen Seaberg… probably the … Continue reading →

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Diversity in Science Fiction, Two Examples

Posted on Friday 11 April 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve noted here and on Facebook that science fiction generally aligns with progressive values; science fiction is typically about speculating how things might be different, celebrating discoveries of what is new and celebrating conceptual breakthroughs of understanding, rather than reflexively … Continue reading →

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The Need to Feel Special

Posted on Wednesday 9 April 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

The scientific kerfuffle of the past couple days has been about a documentary supporting geocentrism (as if the creationists are not crazy enough), the idea that the Earth is the center of the universe, immovable, and that the sun and … Continue reading →

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Creation Myths

Posted on Thursday 3 April 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

The TV series Cosmos has gotten some flack from Christian conservatives who think their creationist ideas are being dissed. In a science show! This article at AlterNet details the many creation myths that Cosmos is not covering. The critics complaining … Continue reading →

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A Telescope Is a Time Machine

Posted on Thursday 3 April 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I like to think that the vast mysteries of the cosmos flabbergast (or offend) so many people just because they have never thought about anything outside the parameters of their own experience, or at best, beyond the scope of the … Continue reading →

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Gopnik on legitimate forms of knowledge and increasing prosperity

Posted on Wednesday 2 April 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

In another article in the same issue of The New Yorker, Alan Gopnik reviews several books that provide both histories of atheism and apologetics of religion. What’s notable about the essay is that Gopnik doesn’t seem to have a horse … Continue reading →

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deGrasse Tyson on new ideas vs old, and battles against ignorance

Posted on Wednesday 2 April 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on back issues of magazines, I came across this long profile of Neil deGrasse Tyson in the The New Yorker, by Rebecca Mead. A couple passages struck me. First, he’s chatting with a makeup artist who brings up … Continue reading →

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Noah and the Advance of Civilization

Posted on Tuesday 1 April 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I haven’t seen Noah and am not particularly inclined to, but I was struck by an essay by David Plotz in Slate, Noah’s Environmental Views Are a Disaster. In the film’s worldview, according to Plotz, the corruption mankind brings across … Continue reading →

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The Greatest Generation

Posted on Saturday 29 March 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

In contrast to the standard cynicism about life “these days” or the future of America, there are a few with perspective on history (cf. Steven Pinker’s latest book) who take a more informed view. Here’s an unusually optimistic commentary by … Continue reading →

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