Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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- Then They Came for the Meteorologists
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Meta
Category Archives: Mathematics
Three from SciAm
Scientific American is a magazine I’ve read intermittently for 50 years. A new take on the difference between liberals and conservatives; How most Americans think they are better than most people, but people in Asian countries do not; How there … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics, Psychology, Science
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Fox News Admits They Were Wrong; Reviews by Michael Dirda
First, a follow up to my Media Literacy post three days ago. Stop the Presses! Something amazing has happened! Salon, Amanda Marcotte, 23 May 2023: Fox News falls for another hoax, as the Dominion defamation settlement pays off, subtitled “The … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics, Narrative, Science, science fiction
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Jerry Coyne on Deepak Chopra, Alex Ross on Max Richter, and others
Jerry Coyne on Deepak Chopra And on the latest argument for the compatibility of science and faith A misleading article on the recent “paradigm” shift in the understanding of human evolution Reviews of new books by Sarah Bakewell and Sarah … Continue reading
Math, Literature, and Maps
Today’s topics: A curious new geometric shape; The connections between math and literature; A new perhaps better map projection of the world NY Times, Siobhan Roberts, 28 Mar 2023: Elusive ‘Einstein’ Solves a Longstanding Math Problem, subtitled “And it all … Continue reading
Posted in Mathematics, Narrative
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Optimism about Science and Tech, Alternative Math, and Political Topics
Another optimistic take on part of current affairs (not politics). Plus: alternative math, and political items.
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Mathematics, Science, Technology
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G.H. Hardy, A MATHEMATICIAN’S APOLOGY (1940)
In perusing some of the earliest popular books I read about mathematics, including the ones I’ve blogged about here by George Gamow and Krasner & Newman, and then searching around for any other popular mathematical texts from the early 20th … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Mathematics
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Kasner & Newman, MATHEMATICS AND THE IMAGINATION
Here is another older book out of my library, one to set alongside George Gamow’s One Two Three… Infinity, which I reviewed back in August. This book is even older. Published in 1940, this is Mathematics and the Imagination, by … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Mathematics
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Surfing the Web, Friday Afternoon
No backlog of links from this morning or yesterday, so I’m sitting down right now (4:30pm PDT) and surfing all my favorite website to see what jumps out. …Posting at 5:20pm. Slate, Marissa Martinelli, 15 Sept 2022: Deep Space Whine, … Continue reading
Posted in Links & Comments, Mathematics, Politics, Star Trek
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George Gamow: One Two Three… Infinity
Here’s an oldie, not just for first being published in 1947 (see Wikipedia) but also for being one of the first science nonfiction books I ever read, back when I bought this copy in 1969. (Seen here is the Bantam … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Mathematics, Personal history, Physics, Psychology
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Significance, and Links
More on yesterday’s post about intuitive morality; the idea of “significance”, and Alastair Reynolds’ new novel; and links and comments.