Category Archives: Human Nature

The Proper Study

Posted on Monday 24 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The proper study of mankind, if not in the way Alexander Pope meant; Powers of Ten, and the range of human intuition and understanding; If Pluto is a planet, so are dozens of other spherical bodies. A passionate performance of … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Human Nature, Music, Philosophy, Science | Leave a comment

The War Within Human Nature for Human Survival

Posted on Saturday 22 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The growing movement of Americans who don’t think all people are created equal; Trump tries to intimidate the source of a report he doesn’t like; Under Trump, protected wild horses are being slaughtered; Trump is doing everything he can to … Continue reading →

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The Transition

Posted on Friday 21 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Fareed Zakaria responds to Ezra Klein about The Odyssey; Briefly: Trump running out of people to blame; How liberal families look pretty much like conservatives ones; The vacuousness of Darline Graham; Wojciech Kilar’s score for The Portrait of a Lady. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Human Nature, Human Progress, Music, Politics | Leave a comment

Ideology and Fertility

Posted on Thursday 20 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The complex reasons behind the drop in fertility; Mike Johnson is literally illiterate; Texas Christians are trying to define Muslims out of existence; Trump is trying crush California’s environmental policies, of course; Robert Reich explores who’s benefiting from the explosion … Continue reading →

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Wiping out databases; sycophants; misogyny; revenge; Waymo

Posted on Wednesday 19 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

What authoritarian regimes do: suppress inconvenient evidence; Much concern about Trump sycophant Natalie Harp; More about Trump’s misogyny; Trump is all about revenge; How Democrats are resisting Waymo, a promising new technology. This is not a surprise. This is what … Continue reading →

Posted in authoritarianism, conservatives, Human Nature, Psychology, Technology | Leave a comment

David Brin’s Phases of the American Civil War

Posted on Saturday 15 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Still under the weather, for a week now. I’m behind updating sfadb. I spent some time this afternoon refining yesterday’s post. For now, not entirely irrelevant: Brin has long portrayed American history as the same kind of transition between modes … Continue reading →

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The Expansion of Human Morality, the Relativity of Good and Evil

Posted on Friday 14 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Further thoughts on the evolutionary forces behind the expansion of human morality; Thought while reading Stephen King’s THE STAND; And further thoughts about human morality, and how conservative and progressive stances have been appropriate at different times; Heather Digby Parton … Continue reading →

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The Deep History Key to the American Political Divide

Posted on Thursday 13 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Kurt Andersen on America’s soft breakup; How the divide goes back ultimately to the Agricultural Revolution. – – – First up, a NYT Op-ed NY Times, Kurt Andersen, 9 Aug 2026: Has America Already Undergone a Soft Breakup?

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Little House on the Prairie, and Presumptions

Posted on Thursday 6 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

About the new Little House on the Prairie; Short items: GOP melts down over Abdul El-Sayed; Trump is learning to be embarrassed; MSM covers heat events without mentioning climate change; Heritage Foundation thinks Fauci proves we should ignore experts; an … Continue reading →

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Tearing Down, and Tricksters

Posted on Wednesday 5 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How Big Business is abandoning climate commitments; Attacks on the Endangered Species Act, and critical thinking; Trump thinks blue states are a threat to the nation; and about his irrationality; How to deal with uncertainty (and the conservatives who refuse … Continue reading →

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