People Prefer a Softened Reality

Posted on Wednesday 20 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • A Big Think piece about over-hyped science and astronomy claims from this past year;
  • Adam Lee on Benjamin Franklin’s “noble lie”: that people need religion in order to behave;
  • And an Endpiece about current holiday activities.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t actually follow “science news” very closely, because true developments in science tend to be incremental, not revolutionary, while journalism of any kind, even the most responsible journalism, tends to focus on some kind of newsworthy ‘angle.’ Thus the media tends to exaggerate the significance of what are actually tentative findings, or at best provisional conclusions, likely needing further study or verification.

Here’s a bunch of examples from this past year.

Big Think, Ethan Siegel, 18 Dec 2023: The 10 most overhyped physics and astronomy claims from 2023, subtitled “Misinformation was extremely popular in 2023, as bad science often made global headlines. Learn the truth behind these 10 dubious stories.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Personal history, Physics, Science | Comments Off on People Prefer a Softened Reality

Whether Economics is a Science, and other topics

Posted on Tuesday 19 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • Paul Krugman on economists who won’t admit they are wrong;
  • How science journalism is theatened, not to mention basic scientific literacy;
  • Disinformation and journalists challenging interviewees on air;
  • How Uganda’s anti-gay laws, inspired by American Christians, is hurting its economy;
  • How Ted Cruz, projecting, rants about how “radical leftists” are so unhappy.

I would say that economics, and psychology, are sciences to the extent their practitioners recognize the results of ‘experiments’ (even those necessarily that play out in the real world) and adjust their theories and conclusions accordingly. Some don’t.

NY Times, Opinion, Paul Krugman, 18 Dec 2023: Beware Economists Who Won’t Admit They Were Wrong

Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Economics, Lunacy, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on Whether Economics is a Science, and other topics

A Way to Talk Around the Problem

Posted on Monday 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 satire item about the 2023 Congress;
  • And my revisiting albums by R.E.M., especially Lifes Rich Pageant, and the earlier albums…

Are the colors of squares A and B the same?

Astronomy Picture of the Day, 18 Dec 2023: The Same Color Illusion

Yes they are. Click on the link, and hover over the image. A prime example of how our senses, in this case sight, are extremely context-sensitive and therefore cannot be relied on to report object reality. One of my ongoing themes.

\\

NY Times, Opinion by David French, 17 Dec 2023: Behold, MAGA Man

What happens to people like this? Are we all susceptible depending on time and place and circumstances? I.e. are our morality, our integrity, our honesty, context-sensitive?

Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Personal history, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on A Way to Talk Around the Problem

Why Progressives Are Moving to the Right: For a Simpler Story

Posted on Sunday 17 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Busy pre-holiday weekend — making rusks and another batch of lemon bars. So only a single item for today, setting aside yet again the more substantial topics I alluded to yesterday.

Here’s one of those pieces where I react to the headline: they are? OK if so, why?

NY Times, Michelle Goldberg, 15 Dec 2023: What’s Driving Former Progressives to the Right?

Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Links, Politics, science fiction | Comments Off on Why Progressives Are Moving to the Right: For a Simpler Story

Threat or Loser?

Posted on Saturday 16 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • How Trump is destroying democracy and democratic culture;
  • Or do Trump’s weaknesses assure he won’t win?;
  • Short items about the Satanic Temple, and a new GOP slogan.

Here’s a piece that takes a wide perspective on the presence of democracy in human history.

Vox, Zack Beauchamp, 15 Dec 2023: What Trump has already taken from us, subtitled “Democracy is a culture — and Trump is destroying it.”

In the long arc of human history, the modern democratic era is a mere blip.

Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Politics | Comments Off on Threat or Loser?

Stupid or Evil?

Posted on Friday 15 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The dictatorship theme continues.

  • Are Trump supporters stupid or evil? A WaPo piece gives many examples of statements by them, dismissing his dictatorship intentions; then Salon’s Amanda Marcotte deconstructs them;
  • Her take: “Regular readers know I’m Team They’re Evil, in no small part because I grew up in red state America and know that Republicans like to play at being stupider than they are.”
  • Worst Congress Ever;
  • Krugman on threats to universities — not presidents of elite universities equivocating about anti-Semitism, but the Florida education system.
  • And a teaser for a piece I’ll explore tomorrow.

Washington Post, Marianne LeVine and Isaac Arnsdorf, 13 Dec 2023: Trump backers laugh off, cheer ‘dictator’ comments, as scholars voice alarm

Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Culture, Education, Politics | Comments Off on Stupid or Evil?

Picking Up Where We Left Off Yesterday…

Posted on Thursday 14 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • Why are many Americans thirsty for authoritarianism?;
  • Why well-intentioned campus speech codes should be abolished;
  • Several items on why the GOP is pursing a Biden impeachment inquiry, despite lack of evidence;
  • How Trump is now conflating himself with God;
  • MAGA: guilty until proven innocent;
  • Conservative junk science organizations to oppose trans equality.

NY Times, Charles M. Blow, 13 Dec 2023: America’s Thirst for Authoritarianism.

Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Culture, Politics | Comments Off on Picking Up Where We Left Off Yesterday…

Link Dump from Recent Days

Posted on Wednesday 13 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on links from the past week, in no particular order. Subjects are:

  • Another take on why people are pessimistic about their economic futures;
  • Trump’s dictatorship: “History shows that autocrats always tell you who they are and what they are going to do. We just don’t listen until it is too late.”;
  • How the benefits of home schooling were based on flawed research;
  • Thom Hartmann on how America will never forgive the GOP’s embrace of Donald Trump;
  • How those Hallmark Christmas movies appeal to MAGA women;
  • Another Supreme Court case, where conservative lawyers defend the wealthy, that is “built on shameless lies”;
  • Right-wingers are outraged that Elon Musk’s AI chatbot isn’t transphobic;
  • Right-wing anti-woke has come for George Orwell;
  • Recent events in Texas show that the GOP’s abortion exceptions for medical emergencies are a sham;
  • A Republican senator makes claims about Democratic “fake electors” with no evidence he can cite;
  • Big NYT piece on the “Troll Army Waging Trump’s Online Campaign”;
  • And a NYT piece about “American’s Thirst for Authoritarianism” which I will pick up with tomorrow.

Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Culture, Economics, Links, Morality, Politics | Comments Off on Link Dump from Recent Days

Red and Blue, and Cancel Culture

Posted on Tuesday 12 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • A succinct characterization of the different cultures of red and blue states, from Jamelle Bouie of NYT;
  • How the kerfuffle between Congress and university presidents is an example of cancel culture from the right, who only believe in free speech for themselves;
  • Jerry Coyne and Steven Pinker on how to save Harvard: a fivefold way of free speech, institutional neutrality, nonviolence, viewpoint diversity, and DEI disempowerment;
  • Paul Krugman on the shoplifting story and how it reflects peoples’ false beliefs about the economy;
  • And the latest example of Trump lying many times a minute.

I’m leading with this item because writer ends with an especially succinct characterization of the red/blue divide.

NY Times, Opinion, Jamelle Bouie, 12 Dec 2023: Red States and Blue States Are Becoming Different Countries

Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Economics, Politics | Comments Off on Red and Blue, and Cancel Culture

Christmas Presents and Consumerism; Beauty in the Universe

Posted on Monday 11 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • Christmas presents, consumerism, and Adam Lee’s take on minimalism;
  • The idea of ‘beauty’ in the universe, as another component of science fiction’s “consilience”;
  • First take on the new Peter Gabriel album.

Like many people as we get older, when Christmas comes around and people (well, my partner) ask what I want to for Christmas, I’m inclined to say “nothing.” I don’t need more stuff. No more kitchen gadgets. My car is fine. My computer set-up is fine. I have enough shoes. Shirts and socks and underwear, well, maybe, these things do wear out and get frayed. But not every year. I can go for an entire year without buying much of anything for myself — except books. Actually, this past year I did replace my laptop (see here), right about on schedule considering my history of a new computer roughly every six years. And bought a new mouse. But my monitors, my desktop radio/CD-player, they’re just fine, and close to a decade old.

As for books, I buy as many books as I want, throughout the year, so at the end of the year don’t really “need” any. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t appreciate the thought, but no one in my family (or group of friends who would give me a Christmas present) is particularly interested in books, let alone would have any idea what would pique my interest. It’s been ages, ages, since I was a teenager and actually put book titles on my “Christmas wish list” that circulated among my family as suggestions for potential gifts. I did get some significant books that way, among them Carl Sagan’s THE COSMIC CONNECTION. Way back in 1974/

With all this in mind, here is an Adam Lee essay from a few days ago. His experience reflects mine to a degree.

OnlySky, Adam Lee, 5 Dec 2023: How to be happy with less: A minimalist holiday manifesto

Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Mathematics, Physics, Religion | Comments Off on Christmas Presents and Consumerism; Beauty in the Universe