Views from Crestmont Drive

Longtermism (and Science Fiction), part 2

Posted on Wednesday 14 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

More about “longermism,” Effective Altruism, how they relate to science fiction, and whether or not books can be reduced to six-paragraph summaries.

Continue reading →

Posted in longtermism, Philosophy, science fiction | Comments Off

Longtermism and Science Fiction, part 1

Posted on Tuesday 13 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve discussed “longtermism” before, via a book by Ari Wallach called LONGPATH, reviewed here about five weeks ago. Its ideas seemed entirely reasonable: consider long-term consequences of making decisions rather than reacting in the moment. Consider the big picture. (The science-fictional perspective.)

Continue reading →

Posted in longtermism | Comments Off

No Escaping Tribal Warfare

Posted on Monday 12 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Items today about Hasidic yeshiva schools, “common good constitutionalism,” the root cause of violent crime, and the increasingly despicable Elon Musk.

We like to think modern society is more advanced than societies of thousands of years ago, and it is in many ways. Our understanding of the world, the universe, of course. Our understanding and usage of science and technology, of course. Human welfare has improved. People live longer and healthier lives than ever before, and not due to religion. Even morality has improved, given the steady abandonment of tribal religious claims, to Enlightenment values of reason and science. And yet there is always a portion of society bent on taking that all down.

Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Politics | Comments Off

Doom and Existential Dread

Posted on Sunday 11 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

About the stages of the Republican Party’s terminal illness (doom); and about why conservatives disapprove of same-sex relationships more than any number of other supposed Biblical sins (existential dread); and my explanation for the latter.

Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Evolution, Religion | Comments Off

Fauci

Posted on Saturday 10 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

NY Times, Anthony Fauci opinion guest essay, 10 Dec 2022: A Message to the Next Generation of Scientists

Continue reading →

Posted in Quote at Length, Science | Comments Off

Half the Country

Posted on Friday 9 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Quick post late in the day, mostly just copying a public Facebook post from Adam-Troy Castro, who writes novels (see pic above) but seems to be better known for his short fiction (see his sfadb.com page), and is apparently even better known to many people on Facebook (he has 4.6K friends) for his comments there. He’s a resident polemicist.

Here’s a post of his from yesterday. which I’ll quote in its entirety. Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off

Current Affairs, 8 Dec 2022

Posted on Thursday 8 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

How Christian morality plays out; the Respect for Marriage Act and the weeping Republican; the right’s sense of grievance; how the media is disconnected from reality; opposite opinions about the American defense budget.

Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Morality, Psychology | Comments Off

Current Affairs: Concerning Morality, and Good and Evil

Posted on Wednesday 7 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

And a fun item about Christmas. That one first.

Boing Boing, Gareth Braynwyn, 3 Dec 2022: In search of a more “Bible accurate” Christmas

Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Morality, Philosophy | Comments Off

Current Affairs, 6 Dec 2022

Posted on Tuesday 6 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Warnock v. Walker; high-IQ stupid people, with comments by David Brin and Charles P. Pierce; restaurant discrimination; and Republicans’ psychological needs.