Dec 3 - 9. Post 3

In this class, the one concept I feel was important is making incorrect assumptions. I thought this was a very popular concept that everyone goes through in their life.  I have made so many incorrect assumptions in my life whether it is on Christmas, birthday parties or with friends. I think knowing the consequences of incorrect assumptions are important because in my case it can prevent many problems. My story about Christmas is a perfect example because if I would not have made an incorrect assumption about my mom not buying me the purse, I would not have been bitter the entire time up until Christmas. I should have thought critically and maybe realized that this was my mother’s plan to do this and trick me. Incorrect assumptions are very common for me because unfortunately, I think the worst about people before thinking positive. I probably should not think negative about people but that’s what making incorrect assumptions is, thinking about people negatively.

I really appreciated everyone and their own opinions on their post! It was a really fun class. :)

Week of December 3 - 9: Q.2

         My favorite thing about this class was the entire blog system. I took an online class spring 2011 and we posted to discussions. The class was about controversial legal issues and the topics we had to talk about were very sensitive. I appreciated that this class was based off of an anonymous blog. I like the anonymity in the class and the fact that I was able to express my opinion as I wanted without any judgment or arguments starting. I really enjoyed everything about this class. One thing I have never been a fan of is group work. I am extremely glad to have met people the people I met through the group work but I don’t like group work simply because one student will always slack or another person will end up doing all of the work. Other than that, I think this class was extremely fun and enjoyable. I am so grateful for all of the knowledge I have gained from this class.

Week of December 3 - 9: Q.1

Over the semester, I have learned a number of concepts in this comm 41 course. I have learned how to recognize fallacies such as, Ad Hominen, Strawman, Appeal to Pity, False Dilemma and Slippery Slope. I want to pursue a career in law and if I am capable of mastering this concept, I will do pretty well as a lawyer. I learned that fallacies are very common in politics. Since this was an election year, it was good timing for me to learn about this because when the debates were on I listened closely to the types of fallacies used. Misleading language played an important role during the presidential debates and I learned that in this class for the first time. Lastly, I enjoyed learning about the use of rhetorical devices such as, euphemisms. I did not know that this concept had a name. This is something everyone does to make a tragedy sound better by a replacement of a positive word. Overall, I really enjoyed the numerous concepts that I learned in this class. I know I will utilize them someday in my career!

Ch. 12. Q.3

In Chapter 12 of Think, a very important concept I read was the “Scientific Method.” According to Think, the scientific method is described as, “involves the identification of a problem and the rigorous, systematic of observation and experimentation in testing an explanation for the problem.” The scientific method is said to be similar to the three levels of thinking, “experience, interpretation, and analysis.” This method includes observations and analyzing these observations. The scientific method steps are the following: Identify the problem, Develop and Initial Hypothesis, Gather Additional Information and Refine the Hypothesis, Test the Hypothesis, Evaluate the Hypothesis on the Basis of Testing or Experimental Results. I think that this method is important because most people do not carefully analyze a problem or recognize what the problem is at all. After reading this chapter I realized that I constantly use this method without noticing. I figure out what the problem is and then I continue to figure out my easiest solution to the problem.

Ch.12 Q.2

I have made so many incorrect assumptions in my life. I recall one specific Christmas I made an incorrect conclusion due to my observations. For Christmas, my mom and I always do the Christmas shopping for our family members. I am the one who usually finds out what people wants and then we go shopping. One Christmas, I gave my mom the Christmas list that contained everyone’s name and a couple of gifts they wanted. When we were at the mall, she kept asking if I liked this and that and I told her what I wanted for Christmas. I kept saying how pretty this Juicy Couture purse was and how much I wanted this purse. My mom bought the purse saying how much my sister would love the purse Christmas. I did not whine I said, “yes, Mom. Kaitlyn would love it. Get it for her.” The day of Christmas my mom said I had to open my present first but I was still so bitter about the whole purse situation. My mom was the first to open her presents and I went after her but my sister was going to be after me. When I opened my present, to my surprise, the Juicy Couture purse was MY present! Scientific knowledge had me recognize that my mom wanted to know what I wanted for Christmas by asking if I liked it and then pretending to give it to someone else. I thought it was cute that my mom went out of her way to surprise me.

Ch. 12. Q.1

          “A fast pace, with many letters, phone calls, errands, meetings, or discussion, is on the agenda. You may feel mentally restless, impatient, and overly eager to get your own ideas across. Also, a situation may arise which requires you to say what is on your mind, to make a decision, or to clearly voice your personal opinion on some issue.” I personally have never believed in horoscopes because they are so easily falsifiable. It might be accurate but I feel like it describes daily troubles. My horoscope basically says that I am facing many phone calls, errands, and that I feel restless. I do feel this way most of my days while I am in school. I have trouble managing my time so I do not feel like this only today. One of my arguments would be that they are never specific or accurate, but I feel that horoscopes make generalizations. My roommate follows her horoscope and she always says that it is accurate. I feel that when people are dependent on horoscopes, people start to believe what the horoscope is telling them without it being true. Seeing as how I don’t ever follow horoscopes, reading this one today assured me of how inaccurate they can be and easily be false.

Ch. 11. Q.3

A concept that I found interesting in chapter 11 was social networking. Social networking is any public forum such as, Twitter and Facebook. I feel that social networks are being misused by teenagers because of the immature posts that surface on Facebook. It is almost a competition about who gets more “likes” on their statuses or pictures. Social networks help in connections with other people, meeting new people, job searching, and might build a relationship. Social networks are crucial to your life because once something is uploaded on the internet there is no deleting it. One of my relatives has his own law firm and he has explained to me that when he has a potential employee, he will look them up on any social public forums to see what kind of person they look like. I am extremely careful of posting things of public forums such as, picture with alcohol; because someone can easily say that the person is raging alcoholic. Not everyone is careful when it comes to public forums because they do not know the consequences of their actions on social networks.

Ch.11 Q.2

In Chapter 11 of Think, Sadler and Hunt both argue their thoughts on internet plagiarism.  Sadler argues that plagiarizing is not fair, unethical and almost a theft move by the person who commits it. Sadler also believes that if people plagiarize, it does not benefit the person at all, neither in the long run. The other author, Hunt, says that plagiarizing should be a right that students should have. I agree with Sadler and his argument because I view plagiarism as cheating and not doing the work you’re supposed to be doing. If I were an author and I knew that students were using my work and passing it as their work I would be insulted because I would want students to do their own work. How will students get an education by stealing the work of others and not taking the time to do their own work. Hunt does not make a good argument as to why is should be a student right to plagiarize. Stadler convinces me and I have always been a strong advocate against plagiarizing.

Ch. 11 Q.1

The media has gradually become more important to my life. Knowing how media can alter a story or mislead the public has made me not trust what I see on the news. I follow the media by twitter, Facebook, and YouTube because I personally do not watch much TV or read the newspaper. I am interested in politics and I think the media is a top source who provides it. During the election time the news informed me on issues that I was not completely informed on. During the second presidential debate, between Republican candidate Mitt Romney and Democratic Candidate Barack Obama, President Obama was accused by Romney of not using the term “terrorist attack” when speaking about the death of four American’s in Benghazi. The host, as well as Obama, both said Obama did use the term and made Romney look like a liar. At the end of the debate, the news discussed the highlights on the debate and it turned out that Romney was right when he said Obama did not call the attack a “terrorist attack.” I was in favor of Obama so I did not question it when the host agreed with him, but after hearing the news people say Obama was wrong was a shock to me. Because of the media, I have become more informed on certain topics and I have further researched issues I hear on the news. It is not good to believe everything you read or hear, as we have learned in this class.

Ch: 10. Q.3

In this week’s reading, I found the “SWOT Model” under marketing strategies, extremely important. The SWOT model is defined as, “… used to analyze a company’s strengths, weaknesses, external opportunities, and threats.”  According to Think, the word SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The SWOT model is also useful for college students in choosing a major or career choice. The SWOT model to me is basically what we have learned in this class. We learn to “rip apart” someone’s argument by recognizing their fallacies or syllogisms. Instead, the SWOT model is ripping apart ads that we come across or marketing strategies that we are intrigued by. The components of the SWOT model are the following: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A couple of strengths in ads are unique selling points, large customer base, and ability to meet demands, and brand recognition. Weaknesses in the SWOT model are outdates/equipment, insufficient information, weak consumer demand, and poor marketing. Opportunities are new markets, competitor’s vulnerabilities, and global influences. Threats are competitors, restrictive legal regulations, global warming, and natural disasters.  Strengths and weaknesses go hand in hand because they are the opposites of each other. Strengths are what the company does best. Listing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are useful to inform ourselves if the company is a good one or not. I thought this was important because after college, many of us will have to analyze companies that can be potential employers.

Chapter 10. Q.2

In chapter 10 of Think, there are two passages by two different authors who share their viewpoints on children’s food advertising. Wooton and Liodice both state their arguments on why they take this stance. Liodice states that children should not be limited to the ads that they see on television by the government. The governments’ theory is that if children’s food ads are not regulated on TV, they will become obese and the child obesity rate will rise. These are guidelines that are set by the CPSI. Liodice does not agree with the CPSI guidelines. However, Liodice says that regulating TV ads is a violation of the first amendment in the bill of rights: Freedom of speech, press and religion. Wooton completely agrees with the government regulation of children advertisement because the guidelines that are implemented will help end childhood obesity. I agree with Liodice because I think it is important to defend the rights we have and not give the government all the power. After all, we are a democracy and we have rights for a reason so we should all learn to exercise them.

Chapter 10. Q.1

In the book Think, chapter 10 is about the advertisement system and marketing type that companies and organizations utilize today. As a college student, and I think I speak for most college when I say Starbucks is most popular with us, Starbucks is one of the places I frequently visit. When thinking of what to write for this assignment I realized that I have never seen Starbucks ads on any billboard. Starbucks ads and marketing takes a different route by appearing on the world wide web and also on every street corner. Their name is well known but I believe that once one has walked into a Starbucks, their environment is what sells them. I am always satisfied with the service Starbucks provides and if I am not, and this is rare, Starbucks is always quick to offer a drink on them. I think business's who are willing to have customers walk away happy is good marketing! Within their store, Starbucks has an immense amount of products to sell that are being advertised around the store with pictures and small descriptions about them. 

Ch. 4. Q.3

In chapter 4 of Think, the section of “The Unreliability of Hearsay and Anecdotal Evidence” caught my attention because hearsay is often used as evidence. Hearsay is defined as, “evidence that is heard by one person and then repeated to another.” This definition is simple to understand and is used on grounds to object in a courtroom. I thought this was important because it always plays a big role in any situation. When talking to a professor about a certain assignment that was missed because you received information from another student. Anecdotal evidence is defined as, “evidence based on personal testimonies.”  This is when people are witnesses and provide their description of what they think occurred. These are not very reliable because people have different interpretations of a certain event. One person might think people were yelling and another might have thought they were talking at a normal level. Both of these concepts are really interesting for me because I hope to one day work in a court room and these two concepts always take place in any courtroom.

Ch.4 Q2

Condon, Allenhynek, and Paynter each had different arguments and evidence to support their “theories” on the existence of UFO’s. Allenhynek believed that there was a possibility of the existence of UFO’s but he stated that there should be more studies and research to prove his belief. Paynter says, unlike Condon and Allenhynek, he is uncertain of the existence of UFO’s.  All three of the experts believe in further research of the matter, but Paynter also turns to reasoning and facts proving the existence or non-existence of UFO’s. Condon did not really support or provide evidence to the existence of UFO’s but he stated that it would be enjoyable to research this. All three of the experts had their thoughts on UFO’s but I have to agree with Paynter’s view. I admired his non-biased judgment in this matter and turning to facts, evidence and a line of reasoning in proving the existence of UFO’s.

Ch.4 Q1.

After reading chapter 4 in Think, I believe that there is a thin line between wisdom and knowledge. I do agree with Aristotle that “wisdom is the greatest virtue.” Anyone can become knowledgeable in any subject/issue. Knowledge is what we go to school for and learn politics, mathematics, and English. Knowledge is viewed as facts. Knowledge can also be described as being literate or knowing how to become an expert in something specific. In college, we acquire both wisdom and knowledge. As I said earlier, we learn certain subjects but students become wiser in certain aspects. Wisdom are life lessons experiences through knowledge received. Wisdom is gained through experiences people have and this is also acquired in college. Students encounter experiences by dealing with different situations and people with different personalities. When getting older, numerous experiences help in becoming wiser than before. I  have gone through very difficult situations that have made me knowledgeable about trust have made my wiser in choosing friends. Wisdom and knowledge are both important at the end of the day.

Ch.3 Q.3

The concept I found interesting in this week’s reading is learning how to evaluate the different type of definitions. According to Think, evaluating definitions are clearly defining key terms as an essential component of clear communication and critical thinking, and there are five criteria to evaluating good definitions. Number one is described as a good definition is neither too broad nor too narrow. A good definition will never be too broad or too narrow and will be specific. Number two is that a good definition should state the essential attributes of the term being defined. A good definition will be clear in stating the characteristics of something such as, the community college definition the book explains. Number three is a good definition is not circular. A definition will give information about the meaning of the term. Number four is a good definition avoids obscure and figurative languages. Good definitions should be clearly stated. Number 5 is a good definition avoids emotive language. Lastly, good definitions will not substitute definitions with slang terms such as the “man-hater” definition the book explained. These are the 5 rules to recognizing what a good definition is and this is an effective way to clear communication.

Ch.3. Q.2

In chapter 3 of Think, they go over Rhetorical devices, “the use of euphemisms, dysphemisms, hyperbole, and sarcasm to manipulate and persuade.” The types of rhetorical devices that are used tin manipulation are the following: Euphemism, Dysphemisms, Sarcasm, and Hyperbole.  According to the book, euphemisms are described as the replacement o f a term that has a negative association by a neutral or positive term such as, using the word pass away rather than the word died. I used this specific example because my doctor of 10 years has recently passed away. This has been extremely hard on me because he became a part of our family. I was having such difficulty dealing with this that I missed class and I talked to my professors and said, “My family friend recent passed away.” I use euphemisms almost every day when talking to my mom and sister. I say words such as, charming when I really want to say that person is rude. I also take pride in speaking fluent “sarcasm.” Sarcasm is described as the use of ridicule, insults, taunting, and/or caustic irony. This week my roommate is not allowed to have a job and is supposed to focus on school. She complained that her previous manager offered her old job back and she said she was scared her parents were going to become angry with her If she world. My response to her was “O.M.G. how unfortunate for you. You’re going to have income aside from mommy and daddy.” She laughed it off but I am known for being sarcastic half of the time.

Ch.3. Q.1

Sally Ride was a very intelligent astronaut who earned degrees in English and Physics. She became an astronaut for NASA because of her impressive critical thinking skills. According to chapter 1 of Think, signs of a good critical thinker are the following: analytical skills, effective communication, research and inquiry skills, creative problem solving, etc. These are a few qualities that I think Ms.Ride takes pride in. For her job as a Capcom, whose tasks include, handling all the ground-to-staff flight communication shows that her critical thinking skills can be trusted with such an important task. According to the book, being an effective communicator is a good quality to have because it allows you to take a leadership position such as, a Capcom like Ride is. She also is described by her friends as being able to “see the heart of things” and “to quickly think”. These two descriptions describe not only Ride but an effective critical thinker. A critical thinker would quickly figure things out and getting to the real issue at hand.

Ch 2. Q.3

The concept of this week’s discussion that I think is important is empathy. According to chapter 2 in Think, empathy means “the capacity to enter into and understand the emotions of others” and this means a person understanding the emotions of others. When someone expresses their opinion about any issue or topic, as much as feelings should not be incorporated into arguments, subconsciously we do. I think this concept is important because we should consider people’s feelings when sharing their opinions. The book says this concept makes us better listeners and communicators and I believe this happens because once people’s feelings are involved, we empathize with the people. I feel that if we were to express our thoughts about a sensitive topic such as, the death penalty, we would want people to consider our feelings and want people to be extremely careful about what is going to be said. The book says that empathy motivates people to correct mistakes done in the past. This is extremely true because if it is recognized that feelings were hurt, there would be a different to go about that same situation in a different way.

Ch.2 Q.2

            Thomas Aquinas, the author of Summa Theologica, provides valid points about the existence of god. His first example was the following: ”Now whatever is in motion is put in motion by another, for nothing can be in motion except it is in potentiality to that towards which it is in motion..” this statement is somewhat confusing but the point the author tries to make is if something is in motion, it must have been put in motion by something/someone. Aquinas explains that according to science, things will continue to be in motion until someone/something stops the motion. The question that is implied by Thomas is how did god come about if something needs to be there before god to start something? I would have to agree with Aquinas and his arguments over Dawkins. Dawkins argues against every argument Thomas makes with the statement that god is immune to “regress”. I was raised in a catholic household but I do not agree with the baggage it carries such as, saints. I strictly believe that there is a god and agree with Aquinas.

Ch.2; Q.1

When it comes to choosing a career, it is vital to know what your weaknesses and strengths are. In college, they stress the importance of knowing weaknesses and strengths when choosing a major because if someone is not successful in public speaking, they would not become a lawyer or a teacher. I think that my strength is in deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is going from the general to the specifics, or also from cause to effect. I believe that this is a very good quality to have in the career of a lawyer. I want to pursue a career in law and I think knowing how to recognize the cause and the effect of a crime or issue would help win cases. It’s good to know what you are good at when picking a major or a career because it’ll be more enjoyable. Not knowing what you’re good at can result in changing majors multiple times and not being good at the career you chose.

Chapter 7. Q.3

In Chapter 7 of Think, a very important issue the book addresses is, “Evaluating Inductive Arguments Based on Analogies”. According to the text, an analogy is a comparison between two or more similar events or things. The indicator words or phrased of an analogy are the following: like, as, similarly, or compared to. While recognizing analogies in inductive arguments, the book explains steps to successfully evaluate these types of analogies. Step 1 is to identify the comparisons being made. It is important to understand what is being compared. Step 2 is to list the similarities made between the two items that are being compared. If there are multiple similarities, then this analogy makes for a strong conclusion. Step 3 is to list all the dissimilarities. If there are multiple dissimilarities, this can affect the overall argument being made. Step 4 is to combine steps two and three and combine the similarities and dissimilarities to decide what is affecting or supporting the argument. Step 5 is to examine all possible counteranalogies that can be made. Once they are found, it is a possibility that the counteranalogies may be stronger than the argument. Step 6 is to determine whether the analogy supports the conclusions. I believe that this is a very important section in the chapter because just as inductive arguments are everywhere, so is inductive reasoning.

Chapter 7: Q.2

In Chapter 7 of Think, the article discusses Doctor Antonia Novello’s success story in Puerto Rico. She grew up in poverty and constant illness as a child. Most people who grow up in such standards would get discouraged and would not try to find a solution. Dr. Novello was not discouraged, she was actually motivated and driven to find a better life for her, to stop living in poverty. Dr. Novello realized that there was an issue with children and teenagers smoking. She noticed that since the advertisement of Joe Camel cigarettes, this problem presented itself among teenagers. She looked for a solution to help this issue among teens. The successful doctor figured that if the problem started with the propaganda of cigarettes, she would ban ads that were directed towards children and teenagers. This was cause and effect because she saw that the ads were causing children and teenagers to start smoking and she was able to find a solution for this problem.