Category Archives: Psychology

Messier objects; Rebecca Solnit; Jonathan Haidt

Posted on Thursday 14 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A chart showing the actual relative sizes of the Messier objects; Rebecca Solnit on the potential for imminent revolutionary change; Jonathan Haidt’s graduation speech, today. – – – Now this is cool. The Messier objects, fuzzy objects in the sky … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Psychology, Social Progress | Comments Off on Messier objects; Rebecca Solnit; Jonathan Haidt

Categories, Scales, a Public Health Triumph, and How the So-Called Experts Have Been Right

Posted on Wednesday 13 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Conservatives like categories, especially binary ones: two examples. Including the claim that what makes a man gay is liberalism; NYT updates its Autocracy Index, 12 markers of democratic erosion; Conservative panic over falling reproduction rates seen instead as a public … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Politics, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on Categories, Scales, a Public Health Triumph, and How the So-Called Experts Have Been Right

Dan Barker, CONTRADUCTION

Posted on Wednesday 13 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

(UK: Hypathia Press, 2024, 111pp, including References but no index) Dan Barker (Wikipedia) is an atheist writer who was once an evangelical Christian pastor. I read one of his earlier books, LIFE DRIVEN PURPOSE (review here), which challenged Rick Warren’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Philosophy, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on Dan Barker, CONTRADUCTION

AI, UFOs, Tradwives

Posted on Friday 8 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Two pieces on Richard Dawkins, AI, and Clarke’s first law; Items on the new UFO files being released by the government; Two items about tradwives; Items debunking the so-called religious revival, Trump claiming hantavirus is “very much under control,” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Psychology | Comments Off on AI, UFOs, Tradwives

Anthropology as another perspective on the world

Posted on Saturday 2 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How anthropology informs an understanding of the world; Short items on Trump’s latest science purge, defenses of white supremacy, Trump’s lie about the some YMCA, and Trump’s sons getting rich off government contracts – – – Well, to the degree … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on Anthropology as another perspective on the world

Changing Minds

Posted on Saturday 18 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The World Bank thinks better of free-market absolutism; For some, every thing the least bit unusual is *meaningful*. – – – A couple non-political items today. The Atlantic, Rogé Karma, 16 Apr 2026: A Pillar of the Economics Establishment Admits … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Psychology | Comments Off on Changing Minds

Steven Pinker, WHEN EVERYONE KNOWS THAT EVERYONE KNOWS…

Posted on Tuesday 14 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life (Scribner, 2025, xv + 364pp, including 64pp of notes, references, and index.) This latest Pinker book, which follows ENLIGHTENMENT NOW and RATIONALITY, seems at first glance a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Psychology, Social Progress, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker, WHEN EVERYONE KNOWS THAT EVERYONE KNOWS…

TACO and Cognitive Surrender

Posted on Tuesday 7 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The world worries about presidential insanity and nuclear war until Trump backs down, yet again; AI and “cognitive surrender”; With some perspective about electronic calculators and other forms of new technology over the millennia; And how the surrender of critical … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Human Nature, Lunacy, Music, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on TACO and Cognitive Surrender

Cognitive Health and Reading

Posted on Sunday 29 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Cultural norms changed about exercise, and maybe they can change to address the harms of social media — by reading more; How the faithful grasp at straws to find societal reassurance; More about JD Vance and demons; How the government … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Music, Psychology | Comments Off on Cognitive Health and Reading

Reading and Introspection

Posted on Friday 27 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Assessing American literacy, and the claim that being able to read a New York Times article puts you into the “hyper-literate educated elite”; How Trump doesn’t read, at all. How powerful tech oligarchs think introspection is dumb; The new homophobia … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Music, Politics, Psychology, Tribalism | Comments Off on Reading and Introspection