TOW #14: Mixed Feelings by Sunny Bains (written, non-fiction text)

Animals have wider variety of senses that allows them to navigate, detect changes in electromagnetic field, or see ultraviolet light. Human generally have five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. However, are we restricted to these five senses? According to Sunny Bains, a journalist and scientist who wrote about Udo Wachter and Paul Bach-y-Rita’s self repairing machines, the answer is no. Introducing a seemingly absurd topic of rearranging proprioception, human’s sixth sense that tells brain where and how the body is oriented, Bains successfully shifts the readers’ doubtful feelings into acclamation. Most notably, she uses hypophora to respond to the public’s general skepticism and the mechanisms behind self-repairing machines. When first introducing the concept of building another sense using the pre-existing five senses, she asks a series of questions: “Can our senses be modified? Expanded? Given the right prosthetics, could we feel electromagnetic fields or hear ultrasound? The answers to these questions… appear to be yes” (5). Bains answers her own series of questions that people generally consider impossible to evoke the audiences’ interest and curiosity on the topic. Bains utilizes hypophora again when discussing the new machine that uses a mouthpiece with weak electrical currents to garner different types of sensory information by asking, “So what kind of information could they pipe in?” (18). She answers her own question with the example of Mitch Tyler, who suffered with balance after having infected ears. The machine successfully restored Tyler’s balance and even worked after Tyler removed the mouth piece. Bains additionally establishes credibility of the machine by writing about her own experiences with the mouthpiece. Bains experienced a version of the mouthpiece made for divers to navigate them on which way to swim. With the use of  prototype, a joystick, and a computer screen depicting a rudimentary maze, Bains could navigate her way. “After a minute of bumping against the virtual walls, I asked Tyler to hide the maze window, closed my eyes, and successfully navigated two courses in 15 minutes. It was like I had something in my head magically telling me which way to go” (27). By including her own account, Bains makes the machine not only more believable but also appealing to the audience.

Article from: http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/15.04/esp_pr.html

TOW #13: President Obama Speech: Back to School Event (written, non-fiction text)

Delivered on September 8th, 2009 during the beginning of school year, President Obama’s speech on education inspired numerous students to study harder and try their best. President Obama primarily directed this speech to students at Wakefield High School in Virginia, but it was directed towards all the students in America who would be returning to school after a long break of summer. President Obama appeals to pathos by addressing that “ we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities” (10). There are no excuses for failures, but it is the students’ responsibilities to do what they are supposed to do. While encouraging the students of United States to nurture their interest and work towards accomplishing their goals, President Obama establishes a greater obligation on the students by reminding them that their education “will decide nothing less than the future of our country” (15). President Obama also uses exemplification of prominent figures who suffered hardships in their lives to get to where they are now to remind students that failure is a stepping stone to success. He mentions the famous basketball player Michael Jordan, who was cut from his high school basketball team and the author of the Harry Potter series JK Rowling, whose book was initially rejected thirteen times. He wants to tell students to avoid being discouraged by failures because the hardships they experience now is something that everyone experiences. Even the most respected figures he previously mentioned struggled to succeed. He reminds students that “These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you” (35). President Obama’s speech doubtlessly touched many students’ hearts and inspired them to better not just for themselves, but for the future of their own country. Quitting just because it is difficult is like quitting America, as everyone should struggle to do their best for the future of the United States.


article: http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

TOW #12: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (IRB, written)

Freakonomics: A Rogue Scientist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is a book written by Steven Levitt, an economist at University of Chicago, and William Morrow, a famous journalist working for the New York Times. Out of the multiple economist articles in the first half of the book, chapter 3: "Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live with Their Moms?" was the most interesting. In this chapter, Levitt and Morrow discuss the fallacy of conventional wisdom. They use ethos of John Kenneth Galbraith, who claim that people "associate truth with convenience... [which is] simple, convenient, comfortable, and comforting-though not necessarily true" (57). The media and police officers utilize this conventional wisdom to imply that drug dealers are one of the most well-earning people of America. However, with real life research, Morrow and Levitt found out that this is only true for a few dealers. To establish credibility, Morrow and Levitt interviewed Venkatesh, an economist who actually had interviewed a large black drug organization leader, J.T. and found out that the drug dealers also had to spend a lot to mercenary fighters who help them fight turf wars and for weapons. While J.T. earns a conciderable amount, other workers who are in lower rank than him earns a minute amount an hour, approximately three dollars an hour. WIth the facts, the authors reveal the ugly truth, the fact that poor African Americans have no other choice than becoming drug dealers. Despite the fact that being a drug dealer is one of the most dangerous jobs in America and many earn much less than the minimum wage, many drug dealers are born into the business. In this article, the authors' audiences are those who might have been mislead by the statistics that media used, to warn them to question the credibility before trusting the information that is presented to them right away.