Category Archives: MInd

Links and Comments: Two from Today’s NYT

Posted on 8 May 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

First, fascinating essay by Michael P. Lynch (author of just-released The Internet of Us: Knowing More and Understanding Less in the Age of Big Data): Trump, Truth and the Power of Contradiction. How is it Trump can say completely contradictory … Continue reading →

Posted in MInd, Thinking | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Two from Today’s NYT

Links and Comments: Irrational Voters; Republicans and Gays; Religious Liberty v Progress

Posted on 9 April 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Sapolsky in last week’s Los Angeles Times: We’re rarely rational when we vote because we’re rarely rational, period. How various discoveries about mental biases and motivated thinking play out in elections. Probably the most striking thing about any of … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Human Progress, MInd, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Irrational Voters; Republicans and Gays; Religious Liberty v Progress

Links and Comments: Conspiracy Theories, Cognitive Biases; Changing Minds; All Stories

Posted on 8 January 2016 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on links and comments from this past week. First, a couple book reviews in last Sunday’s NY Times Book Review. First, a review by Adrian Chen of Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, by Rob Brotherton. Subtitle: … Continue reading →

Posted in Changing One's Mind, MInd, Narrative | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Conspiracy Theories, Cognitive Biases; Changing Minds; All Stories

Harper’s on Environmentalism, etc.

Posted on 11 December 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

More from the November Harper’s. Fascinating article by James K. Boyce, Rethinking Extinction, subtitled “Toward a less gloomy environmentalism”. This is best-read in the context of understanding the impact of humanity on the planet, not just in recent decades, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, MInd | Comments Off on Harper’s on Environmentalism, etc.

Reading Haidt, arcs of history, false balance, how liberal views are closer to the truth, and science fiction

Posted on 12 November 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Beginning to read Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion today, an eloquent, insightful exploration into how the parameters of human psychology explain the range of political and religious differences. I wrote a … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Evolution, MInd, Morality, Politics, Provisional Conclusions | Comments Off on Reading Haidt, arcs of history, false balance, how liberal views are closer to the truth, and science fiction

Links and Comments: Raising Kids with or without faith; Benford hosts evolution debate; the Lake Wobegon Effect

Posted on 10 November 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate: “Why Hold a Child Hostage to My Doubts?” The confusing, complicated desire of parents with no religion to raise their kids with faith. Why would parents with no religion think their kids need to be raised into a faith … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Evolution, MInd, Provisional Conclusions, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Raising Kids with or without faith; Benford hosts evolution debate; the Lake Wobegon Effect

Sundry Links and Comments

Posted on 22 October 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

» A Publishers Weekly review of a book about expanding human perception: We Have the Technology: How Biohackers, Foodies, Physicians, and Scientists Are Transforming Human Perception, One Sense at a Time, Kara Platoni, Author This is a superb account of … Continue reading →

Posted in MInd, Provisional Conclusions, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Sundry Links and Comments

Links and Comments from Sunday’s New York Times

Posted on 19 October 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Front page article: Indian Writers Return Awards to Protest Government Silence on Violence File this under Conservative [religious] Resistance: …growing activism from conservative Hindu nationalists who seek to suppress forms of expression they view as offensive to their religion. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, MInd, Provisional Conclusions, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Links and Comments from Sunday’s New York Times

David Brooks: American Exceptionalism vs. Conservatism

Posted on 28 September 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

David Brooks’ column in Friday’s (Sept. 25th) New York Times for once said something that completely resonates with me, without his usual waffling and obeisance to parochial religious sentiment: The American Idea and Today’s G.O.P.. He takes the idea of … Continue reading →

Posted in MInd, Morality, Provisional Conclusions | Comments Off on David Brooks: American Exceptionalism vs. Conservatism

Links and Comments: Autism and the Perception of Reality

Posted on 18 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Two recent items about autism. First, at Alternet, Florida Principal Tries to Quietly Ban Book to Appease Christians, Sets off Sh*tstorm Instead, in which said principal responded to a “handful of Christian parents” who objected to the acclaimed 2003 novel … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Conservative Resistance, Culture, MInd, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Autism and the Perception of Reality