TOW #4 Post (IRB Book): Blink

      Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, discusses the various ways our minds work. It illustrates the unconscious thinking that happens without us ever realizing. Gladwell, a graduate from the University of Toronto, has been an expertise in this subject matter for years now. His previous books, such as The Tipping Point, cover the same topic of psychological decision-making that occur in our brains. Throughout the book, Malcolm is able to establish ethos by what he is saying.  Backing up his reasoning, of how the brain makes decision unconsciously, with narratives and research proves to his readers that there is a truth to Malcolm’s theory. It makes him credible, which is highly important when the book’s overall subject is about science, specifically psychology. Besides ethos, Malcolm also uses narratives as a way to connect with his readers. People reading this book must have a curiosity for how their minds work and certain functions that goes along with this process. Therefore, his readers are people interested in psychology: especially its connection to the brain. By using stories as a way to highlight the importance of that unconscious section in our brain, Malcolm is able to put a complicated science into simpler terms for his audience. Not only is this an effective strategy, but it also allows readers to really understand his purpose: breaking down the specifics of a newly psychological idea of unconscious decision-making. In fact, you could go even farther and say that in a way, Malcolm is trying to teach the audience how to use that part of their brain advantageously. Besides stories, Gladwell uses a variety of experiments to represent the benefits of knowing about our unconscious side and using it to improve our everyday behavior. For example, when talking about an experiment about deciding if a professor is good or not, Malcolm states, “We believe that we are always better off gathering as much information as possible and spending as much time as possible in deliberation. But there are moments when our snap judgments and first impressions can offer a much better means of making sense of the world” (Gladwell 14). In this quote, Malcolm is summarizing his findings in the experiment by saying that sometimes all the research and getting to know you isn’t needed; usually, our guts tell us our true feelings within the first ten seconds of meeting someone and that is what we should really listen to. Ultimately, Blink is a phenomenal book, so far, that goes into great depths about the wonders of our unconscious side. As for Gladwell, his purpose is clearly stated in each chapter as he continues to break down the psychological reasoning behind this science and along the way, teaches the reader how to use them advantageously with the addition of experiments, research, narratives, and ethos. 

TOW Post #3 (Visual): Gay Marriage Cartoon

           Currently in the United States, a huge controversial topic is gay marriage. While many states, with Pennsylvania being the newest one, have legalized gay marriage, there are still a significant number of states that have not taken any action towards making homosexual marriage legal. In fact, there are thirty-one states that are currently against this legalization of marriage. Therefore, given the influence by recent news, many cartoons illustrate the pain that homosexual people go through. For example, in the visual provided above, a boy is being told by his own mother that she isn't satisfied with his 'decision'. Being told by your own family member that your way of life is strange, and is honestly a little baffling can be hurtful. I mean what happened to the times where people said family is the one place where you aren’t judged, and you always have someone. Then, in the middle picture, the boy has seemed to grow up a bit by the mustache drawing and the height difference visible. However, his own family is telling him, again, how his way of life is still not understandable. As you can see by the boy's face, he isn't angry about this, but there is an obvious feeling of pain shown by his expressions. Also, since there is a significant difference in looks, we can infer that the artist is trying to create a sort of timeline. This shows the readers how it is taking a while for his own family to accept this, and through that time, the guy probably has nobody to confide in. By using pathos, the artist is able to capture a vulnerable picture and express it to his general audience by emphasizing the pain homosexuals go through. In the last picture, we see the man, fully grown, being rejected by a judge now. Meaning, that he does not have the right to get married, settle down, and live his life like the rest of us. The main purpose of this illustration is to show the suffering that homosexuals go through that we, as people, don’t really see. We judge all we want, but we don’t really understand what it is like, and that is where the main message lies in this visual text.

TOW Post #2 (Article): Hillary Clinton Returns With Redemption

        In an article by Lindsey Boerma, it is announced that Hillary Clinton is running in the 2016 campaign for president, and has a plan for the White House. The post starts off by mentioning Hillary's last attempt at president that failed with a third place finish, and continues to include commentary by people who think Mrs. Clinton should not be getting back into the game just yet. Lindsey Boerma, writer for CBS news, slips in credibility throughout the post by adding sources and facts by the anti-Hillary fans whose input seems to be raising other people's beliefs too. During her speech in Iowa, Mrs. Clinton mentions her methods to land her in the White House which includes her "experience and knowing how to lead not those who agree with [her], but those who disagree with [her]" (Boerma 1). However, the people who disagree with her are not going to sit back and eventually jump on the train leading her to the White House. In fact, Iowa GOP Chairman, Jeff Kaufmann, mentions how he doesn't foresee some kind of born again experience in 2016 in terms of her ability to interact with the common person and the common Iowan. Other politicians also speak up against Hillary's decision to run. For example, Republican National Committee Chairman, Reince Priebus, told reporters about her difficulty in connecting with people from the Hawkeye State, and how she is using the same strategy from 2008: to skip and build up an air of inevitability. The interesting part of all these viewpoints on Hillary’s candidacy is how they are intertwined in the same news article. Boerma, writer of the piece, never mentions a positive viewpoint on Clinton’s news for president. In fact, her strategy for writing the piece is to focus on one side of the whole picture, and the side she chooses is not Hillary’s. Readers of the piece, or interested citizens on the 2016 presidential campaign, only see the bad side of Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy due to the biased writing presented by Lindsey. It brings up an intriguing case in the purpose of the article. On one hand, it seems like the author would want to inform readers of Clinton’s decision. However, on the other, the author seems to want to change the beliefs of the soon to be voters of Mrs. Clinton as well.

IRB Intro Post #1

During the first marking period, I will be reading Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. Blink is about the choices we make without really thinking them through. It talks about examples in real life and covers the physiologic aspect about our decisions.

TOW Post #1 (Article): "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words"

           Paul Roberts, writer of "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words" highlights the importance of meaningful writing rather than useless repetition filling random space. Roberts, known for his clear and helpful writing textbooks like English Syntax, establishes his credibility by the knowledgeable information provided throughout the essay. Paul starts off the essay with a narrative mimicking a college student's weekend schedule. He emphasizes how the student writing the paper tries to push it off till last minute because of the difficulty in writing five hundred words. He then starts to inform readers of the various techniques that will turn the D paper into a stronger, substance – filled material that will be worthy of an A. Through the process of classifying and categorizing parts of a paper, Roberts is able to educate his audience of high-school and college students. By using this style to format his informative piece, Robert is able to break down the important sections of writing the best essay. He uses headings to introduce each classification, and even tries humor as a strategy to build that author and reader connection. For example, Roberts writes, “All subjects, except sex, are dull until somebody makes them interesting” (Roberts 57). Throwing small and effective splashes of humor throughout the essay develops a connection between author and audience because the readers are able to see the humorous side of both the paper and writer without getting dulled by the information. Also, using a narrative as the opening paragraph is another method of connecting and relating with the audience. Roberts describes every student’s weekend behaviors when it comes to doing the schoolwork we all dread. Ultimately, this piece helped to get the author’s purpose, of educating the readers on the correct methods of writing a paper, across with the use of connections, humor, classification, and anecdotes.