Category Archives: Science

Framing the Right Questions

Posted on Saturday 7 November 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Salon is shutting down, after 31 years; Elon Musk has deleted his posts supporting Republicans; Paul Davies on three great origin mysteries, and how maybe people just don’t “frame the questions” correctly; Scientific American about the Earth’s “Great Unconformity”; A … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Philosophy, Politics, Science | Leave a comment

The Trashing of America, Intellectually and Civilly, under Trump and MAGA

Posted on Monday 2 November 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How Trump is dismantling the American scientific research machine; And how Republicans are trashing decorum and civility; How Trump is deteriorating; Voting recommendations from John Scalzi: don’t vote for Republicans; Max Boot on why Hegseth should go; Tuck Carlson, demon … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Politics, Science | Leave a comment

Failure to Learn

Posted on Sunday 25 October 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Steven Strogatz on the AI crisis in mathematics; is it OK to be given the answers, without figuring them out for ourselves? How religious zealots mock scientific understanding, since scientific conclusions can change; Briefly: another comment about Rubio’s defense of … Continue reading →

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When the Barbarians Are In Charge

Posted on Monday 12 October 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A Republican *had* to use fake footage [i.e. lie] in an ad in order to attract voters; Whatever the meaning of life, people are more desperate to find it as they near death; Fill the government with barbarians, and you … Continue reading →

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The Hunger for Certainty

Posted on Monday 5 October 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How Christians are attracted to answers from AI, since it seems to certain; Paul Krugman on the administration’s obvious corruption; Carl Zimmer: Are babies “conscious”, and whether it matters; – – – This is revealing. OnlySky, Adam Lee, today 5 … Continue reading →

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What Extra Hour of Daylight?

Posted on Friday 2 October 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Items about misunderstanding Daylight Saving Time, RFK Jr. and AI vs the “tyranny” of medical facts, Krugman on Trump vs the data, Trump’s anger re the media vs propaganda. (Actually posted 17 Oct, items from 2 Oct.) – – – … Continue reading →

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Science, Ultimate Questions, and Belief

Posted on Sunday 20 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Scientific American on whether some questions may never be answered, with my thoughts on humanity’s cognitive limitations; David Brooks interviews astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan about humanity’s place in the cosmos: we’re significant because we can shape our realm, even though we … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmology, Human Nature, Meaning, Science | Comments Off on Science, Ultimate Questions, and Belief

Alan Lightman: THE MIRACULOUS FROM THE MATERIAL

Posted on Saturday 19 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “Understanding the Wonders of Nature” (Pantheon, November 2024, ix + 193pp, including 8pp acknowledgements and notes.) This is a valuable book even though Lightman irks me, as he has in some of his other books, by casually using words … Continue reading →

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Neil deGrasse Tyson with James Trefil: COSMIC QUERIES

Posted on Thursday 10 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: StarTalk’s Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going (National Geographic, 2021, 311pp, including 22pp acknowledgements, further reading, illustrations credits, index, and about the authors.) Like Tyson’s one-year later book, TO INFINITY AND BEYOND … Continue reading →

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The Proper Study

Posted on Monday 24 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The proper study of mankind, if not in the way Alexander Pope meant; Powers of Ten, and the range of human intuition and understanding; If Pluto is a planet, so are dozens of other spherical bodies. A passionate performance of … Continue reading →

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