Category Archives: Science

As Others See Us

Posted on Wednesday 24 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How World Cup tourists are impressed by the US; And an earlier piece about tourists impressed by San Francisco, in both cases despite right-wing apocalyptic propaganda; Amanda Marcotte on why MAGA buys Trump’s reflecting pool hoax; Hegseth reverses the vax … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Economics, Music, Science | Leave a comment

Neil deGrasse Tyson, TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER

Posted on Sunday 21 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter (Simon & Schuster/Simon Six, May 2026, 226pp, including 28pp of acknowledgements, notes, index, and image credits) This latest by Tyson is irreverent and casual, even lightweight, in the way Tyson’s books often are, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Science, Space | Leave a comment

Reflecting Pool Fiasco

Posted on Wednesday 17 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How the reflecting pool fiasco is emblematic of Trump’s manner of government; Facebook’s AMV about how the reflecting pool is a miniature Anthropocene; Why Trump keeps talking about voter fraud: he has specific ideas about the kind of people who … Continue reading →

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Asymptotic Progress

Posted on Friday 12 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How the news about adjusting climate change predictions is good news, and how science is always about increasingly approaching the truth, while never claiming (as religion does) to have found it; Trumps guts a line of oceanic defense; there’s a … Continue reading →

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Meaning, Purpose, Science, Science Fiction

Posted on Thursday 11 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Kevin Kelly’s take on a meaning of life: be the most improbable person you can be; And my provisional ideas about meaning and purpose; Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar. I mentioned Kevin Kelly yesterday, and so I checked out his blog, his … Continue reading →

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The Destruction of American Scientific Research

Posted on Tuesday 9 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Deport 106 million illegals?? More misunderstandings or lies about how California elections works; More about how experience, knowledge, and talent are being marginalized by the current US government; Items about 60 Minutes; Activity today: a brief jury duty experience (posted … Continue reading →

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More Tear-Downs and Cancellations

Posted on Tuesday 2 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Several items on the murdering of “60 Minutes,” and how loyalty to Trump is more important that expertise or experience; Another Trump appointee with no experience, only loyalty; The dismantling of an ocean monitoring system; The motivation behind the cancellations … Continue reading →

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What Scientists Do…

Posted on Wednesday 27 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A revision to climate change predictions doesn’t discredit science, as some people would like to think; Yuval Noah Harari on the global liberal order; the stories of fascism, communism, and liberalism; redemption; and self-correcting mechanisms; Short items about Trump’s Ebola … Continue reading →

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Settling Back Into the Middle Ages

Posted on Sunday 17 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How the US is sliding back into the Middle Ages: demons, teleportation, religious practice; re-enchantment or cognitive limitations? Where real enchantment lies; About the prayer festival on the National Mall; The “universe” of Christianity; Two items about St. Paul. – … 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 →

Posted in Lunacy, Politics, Religion, Science | Comments Off on The World Marches On, With or Without the US