Category Archives: Mathematics

Three from SciAm

Posted on 24 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

Fox News Admits They Were Wrong; Reviews by Michael Dirda

Posted on 23 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

Jerry Coyne on Deepak Chopra, Alex Ross on Max Richter, and others

Posted on 12 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 →

Posted in Evolution, Lunacy, Mathematics, Music, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

Math, Literature, and Maps

Posted on 7 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

Optimism about Science and Tech, Alternative Math, and Political Topics

Posted on 19 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Another optimistic take on part of current affairs (not politics). Plus: alternative math, and political items.

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Mathematics, Science, Technology | Leave a comment

Significance, and Links

Posted on 4 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

More on yesterday’s post about intuitive morality; the idea of “significance”, and Alastair Reynolds’ new novel; and links and comments.

Posted in Links & Comments, Mathematics, Politics | Leave a comment

G.H. Hardy, A MATHEMATICIAN’S APOLOGY (1940)

Posted on 2 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

Kasner & Newman, MATHEMATICS AND THE IMAGINATION

Posted on 30 September 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

Surfing the Web, Friday Afternoon

Posted on 16 September 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

George Gamow: One Two Three… Infinity

Posted on 10 August 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment