Category Archives: Culture

Demographic Shifts

Posted on 25 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Issues with the increasing number of old people in the US; Issues with the fragmentation of evangelical churches. Salon, Mary Elizabeth Williams, 23 Jul 2023: Live long and flounder: An aging expert on the looming crisis of our longer lifespans, … Continue reading →

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They’re Telling Us Who They Are, and What They Will Do

Posted on 17 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Maya Angelou: “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” (source and source) How Trump and his acolytes are openly planning to set up an authoritarian government, should he rewin the Presidency; Similarly, Republicans in Ohio … Continue reading →

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About Immigration

Posted on 15 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

My own ancestors were immigrants, of course, in the 1800s, just like most of the US population; and recalling “Irish Need Not Apply”; NYT’s David Leonhardt about the global immigration backlash, without wondering why these migrations are happening; Paul Krugman … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Family History, longtermism, Music | Leave a comment

Consciousness and Choices

Posted on 13 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The problem of consciousness, and the resolution to a 25-year-old debate, via Vox and NYT’s Carl Zimmer; The paradox of choice, in supermarkets and everywhere else, in our abundant, materialistic world. Vox, Oshan Jarow, 30 Jun 2023: Why scientists haven’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Philosophy, Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

Human History and World History: Two Perspectives

Posted on 2 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Carl Sagan on human history as “a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group” and how conservatives counter this; Peter Turchin about his theory of world history and how he identifies the US as a plutocracy. … Continue reading →

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Conceptions of Aging, and of Traveling

Posted on 28 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The South Korean tradition of aging is giving way to the tradition of the rest of the world; The many ways traveling is problematic; And the idea of virtual traveling. Here’s a fascinating example of how different cultures think differently … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Travel | Leave a comment

Small-town values vs. Big-city values, and a Conservative Notion of the “Common Good”

Posted on 13 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How big-city values, not small-town values, are better suited for governing the nation; Recalling Robert Reich’s take on urban vs. rural; Heather Cox Richardson on the potential end of a long Republican era; A review of a book by an … Continue reading →

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Ted Chiang, Carl Sagan, Peter Singer

Posted on 5 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Ten Chiang characterizes the current examples of “artificial intelligence” as “applied statistics”; How Carl Sagan was wrong about the “reptilian brain”, in The Dragons of Eden; And an interview with Peter Singer, the controversial philosopher, author of The Expanding Circle … Continue reading →

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The Holocene and Other Calendars

Posted on 4 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a concept I’ve heard of, fascinating and beneficial in ways, problematic in others. Wikipedia: Holocene Calendar

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Lessons in Media Literacy

Posted on 20 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How stories about the border are designed to scare you, one way or the other; How right-wing sites promoted a false story about immigrants displacing veterans from New York City hotels; Heather Cox Richardson on the debt crisis and how … Continue reading →

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