Category Archives: reality

Michael Shermer: TRUTH

Posted on Sunday 3 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “What It Is, How to Find It, and Why It Still Matters” (John Hopkins University Press, Jan. 2026, 370pp, including 50pp of acknowledgments, notes, and index) The title of this latest book by Michael Shermer, following CONSPIRACY (2022) (reviewed … Continue reading →

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Dead Scientists, Fine-Tuning, and the Vacuum of Space

Posted on Wednesday 29 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A couple follow-up items today. This item at PolitiFact (the fact-checking website founded by the author of this book that I reviewed) delves into the missing scientists story, which most commentators have already dismissed. But let’s see what PF has … Continue reading →

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Ziya Tong; THE REALITY BUBBLE

Posted on Saturday 21 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: Blind Spots, Hidden Truths, and the Dangerous Illusions that Shape Our World (Penguin Canada: Allen Lane, 2019, 366pp, including 15pp of acknowledgements and index.) This is a pleasant enough book by a Canadian journalist. Her broad point is that … Continue reading →

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Donald Hoffman: THE CASE AGAINST REALITY

Posted on Friday 20 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitle: Why evolution hid the truth from our eyes (Norton, 2019, 250pp, plus color plates, including 45pp acknowledgements, notes, and index.) This is the first of three books I read in January, all with ostensibly similar themes, but actually quite … Continue reading →

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Renouncing Reality, Yet Again, to Make Money

Posted on Thursday 12 February 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The Trump administration denies climate change, in favor of big business; Trump is best on cashing in; Paul Krugman explains why deportation don’t create jobs and will lead to more deaths of native-born Americans; Brief items about conservatives and small … Continue reading →

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Which Part of Science Do Science Deniers Dispute?

Posted on Sunday 1 February 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump closes the Kennedy Center to deflect from all the artists cancelling there; A great SNL sketch about a woman who changes her mind about Donald Trump; Steven Novella asks which parts of science do skeptics actually disagree with; Andy … Continue reading →

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Shades of Autism

Posted on Sunday 5 October 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Andrew O’Hehir at Salon describes Trump’s war on reality, concerning Venezuela; Bits from JMG about Democrats, the Pope, a debate trophy named for Charlie Kirk; how Trump lies about Portland burning to the ground; and how the GOP doesn’t want … Continue reading →

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Morality Is Relative; Reality Is Not

Posted on Saturday 28 June 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

An undistorted map of the world; Jesse Being on “commonsense”; How morality is circumstantial, e.g. in Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID’S TALE, which I just reread this week; Website matters involving drop-down menu bars, here and on sfadb.com; Short items about … Continue reading →

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Conservatives, Conspiracies, and Reality

Posted on Friday 2 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

White evangelicals still see Trump as ethical and honest, which to me calls into question their moral compass; Trump’s 2026 budget is more for the military and less for everything else, a typical Republican proposal; Separation of church and state … Continue reading →

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Richard Dawkins: THE MAGIC OF REALITY

Posted on Friday 14 February 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: How We Know What’s Really True Illustrated by Dave McKean (Free Press, Oct. 2011, 271pp, including 6p of index and acknowledgements) When I was organizing my nonfiction books notes and posts last December, I was surprised that I had … Continue reading →

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