Category Archives: Religion

Settling Back Into the Middle Ages

Posted on Sunday 17 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

This is about the religious rally in Washington DC this weekend. And the limitations of human nature. NY Times, guest essay by Katya Underman, today: We Are Sliding Back Into the Middle Ages My comments before reading the essay: One … Continue reading →

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The World Marches On, With or Without the US

Posted on Saturday 16 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

An idea to anticipate, not react to, car accidents; How American under Trump and MAGA is moving exactly backwards in dependence on fossil fuels; Florida is whitewashing the history of slavery; Men who want women to be quiet: this idea … Continue reading →

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Haidt’s Graduation Speech, and More

Posted on Friday 15 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Jonathan Haidt’s graduation speech: choose your attention, do hard things, make personal connections; Like billionaires, what Christian nationalists have is never enough: now they want to inscribe “In God We Trust” on every Federal Building in the US; Amanda Marcotte … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Religion | Leave a comment

Cooperation Is the Key to Human Advancement

Posted on Sunday 10 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A counterpoint to zero-sum thinking from Japan, and cooperation; Tennessee shows how to rig an election; Short items on Trump, the Pope, and the Bible; now RFK Jr. is worried about jello; how a Christian conspiracy theorist now admits to … Continue reading →

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UFOs, Consciousness, Being Savvy

Posted on Saturday 9 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Adam Frank on the new UFO data; Thoughts about being savvy, and reality-literacy, and the lack of evidence for both UFOs and God; Carlo Rovelli denies there is a “hard problem” of consciousness. – – – One more about the … Continue reading →

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Sean Carroll on Science and Religion, and Templeton

Posted on Thursday 7 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Sean Carroll on science and religion, and why he doesn’t take money from the Templeton Foundation; Short items on how the Trump administration cutting funding to study the hantavirus, the one now loose on that cruise ship; more blaming Satan … Continue reading →

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Is Islam the Best Alternative to Modernity?

Posted on Friday 1 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

What Trump’s latest attempted assassin reveals about modern American life; How right-wing influencers are now praising Islam, as an alternative to liberal modernity; – – – Trying to get a handle on the latest would-be presidential assassin. Slate, Luke Winkie, … 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

PolitiFact on the mystery of the missing scientists; AMV on the fine-tuning argument and the limitations of academic credentials; Idiotic arguments from Facebook folks who think the Artemis mission was faked. – – – A couple follow-up items today. This … Continue reading →

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Twilight of the Gods?

Posted on Tuesday 28 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Pondering how to live in a era without religious assumptions; A related theme in Arthur C. Clarke’s The Songs of Distant Earth; Timothy Snyder on superpower suicide; distrust of the current administration; confused thoughts about racism from the right; And … Continue reading →

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Is Reality a Hoax or a Conspiracy? No.

Posted on Sunday 26 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Many items about the apparent assassination attempt last night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and how many people on social media detected signs of a staged attack; Why posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms doesn’t work, as conservatives think … Continue reading →

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