Category Archives: Science

A Way to Talk Around the Problem

Posted on 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 →

Posted in Music, Personal history, Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

Conservative Disregard for Science; Projections and Untruth; That Famous British Take-down of Trump

Posted on 4 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Update to my Projects page; The Supreme Court’s disregard for science; Anti-vaccine conservatives’ disregard for science; More about Trump’s and the GOP’s projecting about which party is trying to destroy democracy; How even Fox News is now fact-checking Trump’s “untruths”; … Continue reading →

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Con Men and Bespoke Realities

Posted on 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 →

Posted in Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

Last Questions and Possible Answers, 4

Posted on 28 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

This is my fourth and likely last post, following this one in March and this one in June, and this one eight days ago, in which I consider the John Brockman book The Last Unknowns, in which he gathers deep … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Culture, Human Progress, Philosophy, Religion, Science, science fiction | Leave a comment

About UFOs and other perplexing matters

Posted on 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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Last Questions and Possible Answers, 3

Posted on 20 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

This is my third post, following this one in March and this one in June, in which I consider the John Brockman book The Last Unknowns, in which he gathers deep unanswered questions about “the universe, the mind, the future … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Culture, Evolution, Human Progress, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

Liberals vs. Progressives; What’s the Difference?

Posted on 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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Things that are True about the World, despite Human Intuitions

Posted on 12 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

After three posts about that Jonathan Rauch book, let’s post some items about conclusions made by the reality-based community. Veritasium on Euclid’s Fifth Postulate, and how there is more to reality than human intuitive thinking; Neil de Grasse Tyson on … Continue reading →

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The Extent of the Universe, and Our History of Understanding It

Posted on 7 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

NY Times with a photo spread of images from the James Webb telescope; Big Think with a timeline of our history of understanding our universe. —— NY Times, Kate LaRue, 5 Nov 2023: The James Webb telescope is a giant … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Cosmology, Science | Leave a comment

Media, Mystics, and Two Key Republican Obsessions

Posted on 3 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two curious items from Facebook, about learning new media, and scientists as “mystics”; Three items, one by Paul Krugman, about the Republicans’ naked obsession with benefiting the ultra-wealthy; Three items, or maybe four, about Republican obsession with other people’s sex … Continue reading →

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