Category Archives: Politics

Tribal Psychology and Racism

Posted on 21 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

What evolutionary psychology reveals about American politics — nothing new here, except to note that these ideas have reached the mainstream press; A former Republican speechwriter summarizes Trump’s vile racist remarks; Short items about Trump’s confusion of Nikki Haley with … Continue reading →

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Math and Beauty

Posted on 19 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Big Think’s Ethan Siegel on the Fibonacci sequence; Big Think’s Adam Frank on biological and technological information flow; Shorter items on inflation and human irrationality; how calls for securing the border are political theater; how anti-science (vaccine “hesitancy”) is rising; … Continue reading →

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40,000 Stars in the Evening

Posted on 18 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

An article about what “fandom” means today, and my brief reflections on science fiction fandom; Fringe items about blaming the devil, why only Christians should hold political offices, book banning, what Trump’s “best people” have said about him, and an … Continue reading →

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Orion, and Tribal Politics

Posted on 16 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

What Orion would look like if we had better eyes; The Iowa landslide for Trump reveals evangelicals for who they really are; The country needs a dictator; Sobbing woman begs Trump to save her; Conspiracy-monger set the fires himself; Nikki … Continue reading →

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After Science and Democracy, Perhaps the World is Regressing to a Mean

Posted on 15 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Latest examples of Republican values: letting migrants in Texas drown; and how Trump wants his followers in Iowa to vote even if it costs them their lives; How Trump voters prefer a strongman, never mind democracy and law and order; … Continue reading →

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Readings: Carl Sagan; Maggie Jackson

Posted on 14 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

A 1987 Carl Sagan lecture, just published in 2022, about the protocols of science and government and the need to acknowledge uncertainty; A NYT opinion piece by Maggie Jackson about uncertainty and how to manage it; R.E.M.’s “Leave” Quillette, Steven … Continue reading →

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At the Edge of the Continent

Posted on 13 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Today my partner and I finished setting up my chic new curved widescreen monitor (a Christmas present), replacing the two standard-sized monitors I was using before. This new monitor (technically a “gaming” monitor) shows roughly the equivalent of three of … Continue reading →

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Take Another Trip Around the Sun

Posted on 11 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Let’s try to drill through accumulated links, if only briefly, and then move on to other things. Among many items, these themes: Republicans and “God gave us Trump” and America’s “collective pathology”; Adam Lee on the idea that conspiracy theorists … Continue reading →

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A Dream of Oceans, and Sunken Cities

Posted on 10 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Still enamored by R.E.M., which is why I’ve chosen another of their lyrics for today’s post title. Today: more items about trying to understand the modern world. How false information might be the top global risk in 2024; An example … Continue reading →

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Philosophy of Government, and other matters

Posted on 8 January 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How that DeSantis/Newsom debate revealed “the space between red and blue states”; Short items about folding paper to reach the Moon (the answer is 42), and Christian ideas about good and evil, beating up gay children, and Trump as God’s … Continue reading →

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