Views from Crestmont Drive

Neil deGrasse Tyson, STARRY MESSENGER: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization

Posted on Sunday 13 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Review:

Rather similarly to a couple three other nonfiction books I’ve read lately –- Ari Wallach’s LONGPATH (review here, Jim Al-Khalil’s THE JOY OF SCIENCE (review here), and even Justin Gregg’s IF NIETZSCHE WERE A NARWHAL (review here) -– this book is another basic, entry-level book covering ideas familiar to forward-looking thinkers of all kinds, but especially to scientists and to science fiction readers.

The difference between this and those other books is that Tyson is a major cultural figure, probably the best-known scientist in the nation. He’s done TV shows (Cosmos), he does the lecture circuit, and he has lots (hundreds of thousands? Don’t know exactly) of followers on Twitter. He pokes fun at the bad science in sci-fi movies. (And in the latest Top Gun.)

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Posted in Book Notes, Cosmology, Science | Comments Off

Quote of the Day: Recovering from Madness

Posted on Saturday 12 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Charles Mackay was a Scottish poet who lived from 1818 to 1889. He was the author of the book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, in 1841.

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Posted in Meaning, Philosophy | Comments Off

Yesterday’s Streetworks

Posted on Friday 11 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Posted yesterday on Facebook. To the extent that there’s a difference, apparently I should have said streetworks, not roadworks. You can look it up.

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Posted in Personal history | Comments Off

Three Interesting Books That I Probably Won’t Read

Posted on Thursday 10 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

About free markets, the fundamentals of biology, and unsustainable growth.

And I probably won’t read them simply because I have so many other books to read, such as the few on a bookcase just to the left of my computer desk. Image turned sideways. (And others all over the house.)

First is this one, seen in a Publishers Weekly review this past week.

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Posted in Book Notes, Economics | Comments Off

The Day After Election Night, 2022

Posted on Wednesday 9 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Short version: The Republicans won a few races, but there was no ‘red’ landslide as some, not just Republicans, had predicted. Though of course a few key races are going down to the wire, so control of the House and Senate are still up in the air.

My prediction about *this* situation is that, the more Republicans fail to win races they claimed (despite polls) to be certain to win, the more accusations of voter fraud will fly. Only if they won every race would they be happy with “election integrity”.

Again, no attempt here to be comprehensive, just some links that caught my attention today. Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Politics | Comments Off

Election Night, 2022

Posted on Tuesday 8 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s election day in America, as they say, and for some reason this one feels especially dire. The first national election since Jan. 6th, and with so many conspiracy mongers anxious to detect voter fraud and declare victory by default. Republican politicians who say they’ll accept the results of the election, only if they win. This is what America has come to.

So let’s wander through some links from recent days.

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Posted in Politics | Comments Off

Layoff Anniversary

Posted on Monday 7 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Today is the 10th anniversary of my lay-off from the one professional job I’ve ever had, working for the aerospace firm Rocketdyne. November 7, 2012, after 30 years. Details of that life and the aftermath of the layoff on my Personal History pages.

Perhaps it’s worth spending a few minutes reflecting on what’s changed in 10 years. Where was I then, where I am now. (For no particular reason, the photo is from 2017, when I visited the famous Vasquez Rocks, for the first time in my life. The front door of my car is open.) Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history | Comments Off

Reading: Ezra Klein and Pippa Norris

Posted on Sunday 6 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

The Ezra Klein Show is a free, semiweekly podcast by Ezra Klein, co-founder of Vox, and author of Why We’re Polarized (my review here), now podcaster and editorial writer for The New York Times, and an all-around very sharp guy. (And he lives in Oakland.)

From a week ago, here’s an item called A Powerful Theory of Why the Far Right Is Thriving Across the Globe, subtitled “The political scientist Pippa Norris explains how a ‘silent revolution in values’ is fueling the global rise of the right.” Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Psychology | Comments Off

Ari Wallach, LONGPATH: Becoming the Great Ancestors Our Future Needs

Posted on Saturday 5 November 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

This is a modest little book with great ambitions to change the way people think. And more power to it if it does. But for anyone who reads science fiction, for example, or is familiar with big issues and long-term thinking in the way writers like Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson are, there isn’t much new here.

At the same time, this book does capture a central aspect of what science fiction, and its worldview, is all about. For people who think science fiction is about gimmicks and space battles, this book would be a corrective. No — it’s about this. Seeing the big picture. Taking the long-term view.

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Posted in Book Notes, Culture, Evolution, science fiction | Comments Off