Category Archives: Human Progress

And How Science Fiction Is Both a Symptom and a Solution

Posted on Monday 13 October 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Further thoughts on how science fiction informs current social ills; Republican doublethink about “No Kings” rallies; Columbus Day, and Trump’s veneration of Columbus vs the realities of history; Heather Cox Richardson’s perspective on Columbus, and the origin of Columbus Day. … Continue reading →

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And How This Is All About Reality, and the Future of Humanity

Posted on Saturday 11 October 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Quotes from E.O. Wilson and Brian Cox; Comments about existential threats, base human nature, MAGA, and woke; More examples, like yesterday’s; A report from Nicholas Kristof, who lives in Portland; How Trump isn’t responding to crises, he’s constructing them; Final … Continue reading →

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No Necessary Nations

Posted on Saturday 12 July 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Stephan Marche on how there are no necessary nations, and no permanent global order; Judges, appointed both by Republicans and Democrats, speak out against the Trump administration; Heather Cox Richardson identifies one key failure in the Texas floods, the result … Continue reading →

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Is Religion Simply a Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Game?

Posted on Tuesday 24 June 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Since it’s obviously not about objective reality. Lance Wallnau says Trump’s strike on Iran is setting the stage for the Antichrist; With thoughts about what humanity is “for”; Trump confuses supercells with sleeper cells; Vox on how Trump’s actions aren’t … Continue reading →

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Paleolithic Emotions, Medieval Institutions, and Godlike Technology

Posted on Tuesday 17 June 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

EO Wilson on the real problem of humanity; Conservatives think you can command things into existence, despite the evidence of the real world; re: Trump’s tariffs on aluminum; With my comments about modern technology and globalism; How the Minnesota killer … Continue reading →

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America, increasingly anti-science and anti-intellectual, was founded by religious fanatics, as perhaps most Americans do not realize

Posted on Tuesday 27 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

How America is becoming anti-science and anti-intellectual, with a comment by David Brin; Adam Serwer on Trump’s attack on knowledge itself, with my comments about how most people won’t notice, but the world and history will; How Americans venerate ancestors … Continue reading →

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Education, Religion, Policies that Don’t Work, the Revolt Against Expertise

Posted on Sunday 25 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Heather Cox Richard on the history of government suppression of education, especially as inspired by religion; The GOP keeps promoting policies that history has shown don’t work; The revolt against expertise, yet again. – – – Heather Cox Richardson reviews … Continue reading →

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We’re Living in an Age of Regression

Posted on Tuesday 13 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

In Trump’s America, it’s every parent and child out for themselves; Who decides who’s Christian? The government? Fox News says the Qatari bribe to Trump is fine because FDR gave three planes to the Saudis… 80 years ago; Robert Reich … Continue reading →

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Tim Urban, WHAT’S OUR PROBLEM?, post 1

Posted on Tuesday 13 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Wait But Why, 2024, 584pp, including 112pp of characters, acknowledgements, notes, bibliography, and bio) I wrote about this book back in December, before deciding to buy it. Which I did despite some cautionary signs: it’s apparently self-published, it’s enormous, it’s … Continue reading →

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J. Bronowksi: THE ASCENT OF MAN

Posted on Saturday 10 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Little, Brown, 1973, 448pp, including 9pp (in tiny print) of bibliography and index) This is a substantial book that was popular in its time but is probably not really recommendable now, simply because it’s 50 years out of date in … Continue reading →

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