Category Archives: Physics

Links and Comments: Fermi Paradox; books by Brian Attebery and Frank Wilczek; Religious suppression; Religious fantasy

Posted on 10 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

NY Times, Dennis Overbye: The Flip Side of Optimism About Life on Other Planets. (The print version was titled “A Case for Why We’re Alone”.) A consideration of the “Fermi paradox”: why, if by reasonable estimates there are likely millions … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Steven Weinberg; Trek vs Wars; How the world is getting better; Undermining the Bible

Posted on 13 July 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a archival essay by Steven Weinberg, whose new book I just reviewed in previous post: A Designer Universe?. This is the essay in which Weinberg wrote this oft-quoted passage (though usually only its final line, here bolded): Where religion … Continue reading →

Posted in Narrative, Physics, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Steven Weinberg; Trek vs Wars; How the world is getting better; Undermining the Bible

Links and Comments: Modern Physics; Evolution and Strangers; Coming out in totalitarian societies; Elizabeth Kolbert on Mars

Posted on 8 June 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Sunday’s New York Times has a “Gray Matter” essay on A Crisis at the Edge of Physics by Adam Frank and Marcelo Gleiser* is about whether the empirical method — validating theories via predictions and evidence — does not work … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Physics, Science, The Gays | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Modern Physics; Evolution and Strangers; Coming out in totalitarian societies; Elizabeth Kolbert on Mars

Naïve Physics

Posted on 24 April 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a fascinating article from The Conversation: Infections of the mind: why anti-vaxxers just ‘know’ they’re right (via). My interest in this piece isn’t about anti-vaxxers per se, it’s about the more general issue of how people form beliefs, what … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: the vastness of the universe; Hubble photos; the physics of everyday life; science books; creationists and the possibility of alien life

Posted on 23 April 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Vox: 11 images that capture the incredible vastness of space. Related: Phil Plait celebrates 25 Years of Cosmic Treasures: Hubble’s 12½ Greatest Hits \\ Physicist Sean Carroll this week references an earlier post that spells out an important point: The … Continue reading →

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Sean Carroll on the afterlife, life, death, happiness, and our place in the universe

Posted on 15 January 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Today chanced upon this video speech by physicist Sean Carroll, on his blog, upon his winning an Emperor Has No Clothes Award, from the Freedom From Religion Foundation — won previously by everyone from Ursula K. Le Guin to Dan … Continue reading →

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Hawking’s Theory of Everything

Posted on 17 December 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow, THE GRAND DESIGN (2010) This is the most recent book authored (or co-authored) by Stephen Hawking, the well-known brilliant physicist, subject of the recent film The Theory of Everything. The film depicts (in addition to … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Cosmology, Philosophy, Physics, Science | Comments Off on Hawking’s Theory of Everything

Links and Comments: Gay Marriage; Evangelical Doomsday; Natural Selection is not a guide to life; Jibbers Crabst; the power of faith, and science, and physics

Posted on 10 December 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate’s William Saletan: A Conservative Case for Gay Marriage, subtitled, “How to talk to your antigay religious relatives about same-sex unions”. Key points: homosexuality is not a sin, because it’s not a choice; it’s not harmful, but is in fact … Continue reading →

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The Science of Interstellar

Posted on 10 December 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Just finished reading Kip Thorne’s THE SCIENCE OF INTERSTELLAR, a big trade paperback with lots of diagrams and a few photos. Takeaways: 1) Thorne was one of the creators of the initial premise for the film, long before Christopher Nolan … Continue reading →

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Cosmos So Far

Posted on 24 April 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I should update my thoughts about the new version of the TV series Cosmos, since earlier I posted a mild critique about it needing to explain the background of scientific discovery – presenting not just the grandiose conclusions humanity has … Continue reading →

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