Category Archives: Psychology

A Way to Talk Around the Problem

Posted on Monday 18 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The “same color” illusion — an example of how we cannot trust our senses; How Rudy Giuliani descended into MAGA, and whether we’re all equally susceptible; How right-wingers are triggered by tap-dancing in the White House to The Nutcracker; Brief … Continue reading →

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Latest from the Impending Dictatorship Watch

Posted on Tuesday 5 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Recalling the “Good Germans” who didn’t pay attention to Hitler’s rise; Salon’s Chauncey DeVega on how Americans are sleepwalking into a Trump dictatorship; The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg on the danger of a second Trump term; Steve Bannon’s promise to prosecute … Continue reading →

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Choice, Binary Matters, and Projection

Posted on Sunday 3 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Another cool, mostly overcast, party sunny day. This is winter in the Bay Area: lows in the 40s, highs in the 50s. We walked the Montclair Railroad Trail, and checked various shops in the village for Christmas lights. One of … Continue reading →

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Personal Jesus and Other Fantasies

Posted on Saturday 2 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How Russia is cracking down on the Gay Rights Movement, just as American evangelicals would like to do; A laughable debate about whether the Earth is flat or round, based on Biblical theology; A take on the economy that suggests … Continue reading →

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Newsom, DeSantis, Santos, and the Threat of a Trump Dictatorship

Posted on Friday 1 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Political and religious/political items today. The Newsom/DeSantis debate; The expulsion of George Santos; How ‘moderates’ like Nikki Haley would also eviscerate the government (i.e. what “draining the swamp” means to Republicans); Short items about DeSantis’ Bible; how inflation is fault … Continue reading →

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Con Men and Bespoke Realities

Posted on Thursday 30 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

End of November. The sun sets early; the house is chillier. We have our thermostat set to 68. And I think I’m approaching the finishing of one of my long-term projects. And still working on another. Adam Frank on learning … Continue reading →

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About UFOs and other perplexing matters

Posted on Tuesday 21 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a provisional thesis (not even a provisional conclusion). The mysteries that most perplex us scientifically — like, say, the nature of consciousness, or what happened “before” the Big Bang — or that attract the most wild, often conspiracy-driven, thinking … Continue reading →

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Another Clear, Crisp Day in the Bay Area

Posted on Monday 20 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

A companion to yesterday’s post about politics. Because I’m sure people are as interested in my religious takes as they are in my political takes. (What is the reason religion and politics are never discussed around the dinner table? Because … Continue reading →

Posted in Morality, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Another Clear, Crisp Day in the Bay Area

Liberals vs. Progressives; What’s the Difference?

Posted on Friday 17 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Pamela Paul in NYT distinguishes progressive from liberals; the answer is, the former are driving cancel culture from the left; How I’ve changed my mind about threats from the right, vs. those from the left; Jerry Coyne, who follows university … Continue reading →

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Decency, Bias, and Superstition

Posted on Thursday 16 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Over and over, Trump and his team, unable to win arguments on the facts, resort to ad hominem — character assassination; The contrast between conservative insistence on women taking a child to term, rather than abortion, with the mild inconvenience … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Psychology, The Gays | Comments Off on Decency, Bias, and Superstition