Category Archives: History

How “Meaning” is just another example of the Narrative Bias

Posted on 28 October 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Three pieces from Big Think. How history is told by story-tellers, and cannot be taken literally; How philosophy advances science by asking forbidden questions; How questions about the “meaning of life” reveal the narrative bias. —— Three sciency links, all … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Meaning, Narrative, Philosophy, Science | Leave a comment

Heather Cox Richardson, Book Bans, and Libraries

Posted on 14 October 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Profile of Heather Cox Richardson, and a review of her new book; Several items on book bans in the US; And an item about all the threats to US libraries, not just book bans. – – – Profile of Heather … Continue reading →

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Two Political Items, Two Intellectual Items

Posted on 24 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT’s Michelle Goldberg on the legacy of Rupert Murdoch; Responses to conservative dismissals of climate change (with some quotes by Carl Sagan); Veritasium: How knot theory could save your life; Yuval Noah Harari on how history is the study of … Continue reading →

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Another Day of Examples of Beliefs vs. Reality

Posted on 13 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Another example of conservatives retelling history, from PragerU; How those with beliefs in subjective truths are more prone to conspiracy theories; How China is now using AI to sow disinformation to gullible Americans, and wondering how long it will be … Continue reading →

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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

Laptop Updates; More about the Crisis in Cosmology; Political matters; A History of Labor Day

Posted on 9 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

New laptop updates. Another “calm down” reaction to the recent news about the “crisis in cosmology”; Political matters, including Alabama’s defiance of the Supreme Court; parental rights; freedom and education; And Heather Cox Richardson on the history of Labor Day. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmology, History, Personal history, Politics | Leave a comment

Conservatives and Mental Health

Posted on 21 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How Republican fears reveal their own mental health crisis; How Trump voters trust him more than family, friends, or clergy; How the worst people run for office (from Adam Grant), and how SF has anticipated this (from Isaac Asimov). This … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Social Progress | Leave a comment

Feeding Voters a Fantasy World

Posted on 12 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The most alarming thing I’ve learned in the past decade is how so many ordinary people are not smart, not well-educated, are susceptible to political ideology and religious zealotry, and are driven by ideology and zealotry to try to take … Continue reading →

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Living in History

Posted on 22 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

We’re living through the hottest month and year in history. And it’s only going to get worse; Wondering why Trump fans adore him despite his incoherency and insincerity; And how conservative objections to LGBTQ books in a San Diego library … Continue reading →

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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 →

Posted in Culture, History, Human Progress | Leave a comment