Category Archives: Human Nature

It’s Not Just MAGA

Posted on Monday 21 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

There’s right-wing rejection of modern values in Europe, too; The end of American exceptionalism, which has been going on for some time; Who does Trump want to shoot with snipers on his Triumphal Arch? A study about children exposed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Human Nature, Religion | Leave a comment

Science, Ultimate Questions, and Belief

Posted on Sunday 20 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Scientific American on whether some questions may never be answered, with my thoughts on humanity’s cognitive limitations; David Brooks interviews astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan about humanity’s place in the cosmos: we’re significant because we can shape our realm, even though we … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmology, Human Nature, Meaning, Science | Leave a comment

AI and Human Nature

Posted on Saturday 19 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Considering whether doomers and skeptics about AI are both a little bit right (I remain agnostic); What ‘misalignment’ means; Istvan Csicsery-Ronay on what to expect if AI is built on human literature. – – – It’s usually not true that … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Narrative | Leave a comment

Possibilities of Apocalypse

Posted on Friday 18 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

An essay about how the dangers of technology, like AI, have been avoided before (e.g. with nuclear technology), through various kinds of government regulations (not to mention international cooperation); And yet there are more incidents of bad AI behavior; Now … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Music, Technology | Leave a comment

Peter Singer: A DARWINIAN LEFT

Posted on Wednesday 16 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: Politics, Evolution and Cooperation (UK 1999; Yale University Press, 2000, 70pp, including 7pp notes and references) What’s interesting about this book is the background of progressive idealism that is not widely acknowledged, or perhaps has simply been forgotten. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Evolution, Human Nature, Meaning | Leave a comment

The Conservative Denial of Existential Threats

Posted on Monday 14 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump thinks concerns about AI are a hoax; Paul Krugman relates AI to climate change: the MAGA plot(s) to destroy humanity. – – – Trump thinks concern about AI is a hoax. CNN, today: Trump dismisses AI alarms as a … Continue reading →

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Hiking is a Modern Invention

Posted on Sunday 13 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The idea of hiking was not a thing until relatively recently; How Trump is stifling free speech; Brief items about hurricanes and methane; Nice Bruckner 6 performance by Myung-Whun Chung. – – – First, a think piece. About how the … Continue reading →

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How the Terrorists Won, in a Sense

Posted on Saturday 12 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Passing through airport security is an example of how the terrorists won, and maybe what led to MAGA and Trump; Jonathan V. Last on how terrorism sometimes works; (And how terrorists are motivated by religion); The reflecting pool contractor admits … Continue reading →

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Tribalists, Bribes, 9/11 and Tyranny, Fear, and Cheating

Posted on Friday 11 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Reading David Pakman, and considering Republican history since Reagan; Trumps is now trying to bribe voters; How the Patriot Act, passed after 9/11 and never repealed, have given Trump the tools to become a tyrant; How Republicans use fear to … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Human Nature, Morality, Politics | Comments Off on Tribalists, Bribes, 9/11 and Tyranny, Fear, and Cheating

The Battle

Posted on Wednesday 9 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How the erosion of the 20th century’s “liberal consensus” began to crumble under Ronald Reagan; Conservatives lying with fake photos, photoshops, bogus census reports, and more. – – – Heather Cox Richardson has told this story. (See my review.) NY … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Politics | Comments Off on The Battle