Category Archives: Human Progress

Alcohol and Civilization, and other recent items

Posted on 17 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How civilization might have been driven by the desire for alcohol; about the NYT interviewing Republicans; the perspective on conspiratorial thinking from an American living in Britain; paranoia and the GOP; DeSantis’ war on “wokeness”; Paul Waldman on 6 things … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Human Progress, Psychology | Comments Off on Alcohol and Civilization, and other recent items

Progress, Its Implementation, and Trust

Posted on 17 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

A long piece today, from the Jan/Feb 2023 issue of The Atlantic. The Atlantic, Derek Thompson, 12 Dec 2022: Why the Age of American Progress Ended, subtitled “Invention alone can’t change the world; what matters is what happens next.”

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Progress, Science | Comments Off on Progress, Its Implementation, and Trust

Daily Details and Existential Threats

Posted on 4 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Perhaps I should start with daily details? Chilly today but sunny, in between storms. Despite yesterday’s post, I decided to walk around the house for 30 or 40 minutes last night (while the TV showed Jeopardy or whatever) in order … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Progress, Personal history, Philosophy | Comments Off on Daily Details and Existential Threats

Extreme vs. Necessary Solutions

Posted on 28 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

To the imminent destruction of the planet. Allow the human race to go extinct? Cut back on capitalist consumption? (Which would be worse?)

Posted in Culture, Evolution, Human Progress | Comments Off on Extreme vs. Necessary Solutions

Links and Comments: 19 Nov 2022

Posted on 19 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

About FTX and effective altruism; political examples in the spirit of the recent Borowitz book; examples of how the media covers events; and a perspective on the American economy under Republicans and Democrats. Image here: today’s sunset.

Posted in Human Progress, Politics | Comments Off on Links and Comments: 19 Nov 2022

Never Ending

Posted on 6 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Big Think, Nirit Weiss-Blatt, 4 Oct 2022: Bombastic eulogies: Let’s put an end to cynical “The End of” headlines. Subtitled: “We can never hope for a future with no problems. The solutions to problems create new problems, which in turn … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Progress, Technology | Comments Off on Never Ending

Marin Vaxxers

Posted on 3 October 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT, Soumya Karlamangla, posted 2 Oct 2022, in today’s paper: Once Known for Vaccine Skeptics, Marin Now Tells Them ‘You’re Not Welcome’ Subtitled: “The wealthy California county just north of San Francisco has one of the nation’s highest Covid-19 vaccination … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Progress, Lunacy, Science | Comments Off on Marin Vaxxers

Recent Features and Headlines, 14 Sept 2022

Posted on 14 September 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Ockham’s Razor; Randall Munroe; The best time to be alive; nephew of longtermism; political headlines.

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Progress, Philosophy, Politics, Science | Comments Off on Recent Features and Headlines, 14 Sept 2022

Recent Headlines, 7 Sept 2022

Posted on 7 September 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Busy with things including the heat. For now headlines from the past few days, lightly commented. I’ve skimmed them at best; some I will revisit and comment further. About not following your gut; the past 150 years of human history; … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Education, Human Progress, Links & Comments, Narrative, Psychology, Social Progress | Comments Off on Recent Headlines, 7 Sept 2022

Son of Longtermism

Posted on 22 August 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Some 14 days ago, in this post, I linked and quoted from a NYT guest essay by William MacAskill about valuing the future as much as we value the present. Which struck me as a reasonable position to take, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Human Progress, Humanism, Philosophy, Science, Social Progress | Comments Off on Son of Longtermism