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.