Discussion #3 Further Discussion

The one topic in this course that I wish had more information and could use further discussion would be emotions and reasoning. The book covered on this topic, but there was not much information. I wanted to know more about the process of emotional manipulation and how it affects the decisions we make. I know our emotions can cause us to become bias about certain things, and that can negatively influence us in the choices we make. Human emotions are strong and can change the way we think and see things, but I never thought they were that influential. I also wish the book went over ways we could possibly overcome this type of obstacle. It would have been helpful, because we deal with this in our daily life. Having a bit of direction to help us with this will allow us to become better critical thinkers and be more efficient in reasoning. 

Discussion #2 Favorite/Least Favorite & Improvements

My favorite part of this class was how informative and easy the textbook was to read and understand. It helped me understand the concepts even more, and the examples were relevant and again, easy to understand. If all textbooks were written this way, maybe I would be reading them more often. I also liked the fact that what I have learned in this class can be used in my daily life, especially being able to better communicate with others. My least favorite part of this class was the group project papers. It was annoying having to meet up with our group members because 90% of the time, we are all busy. So it was difficult to pick a time where we were all available. I took this online class because I thought it would make my schedule less stressful and more manageable, but it only added more stress because I was constantly worrying about the group projects. This could be one thing to improve. Another thing that can be improved is the 12-hour wait in between blog posts. I didn’t like that we had to wait after we posted one blog because some times I would forget to post the next blog after 12 hours. It would help a lot if we could post the blog posts whenever we wanted. It would have made things a lot easier. 

Discussion #1 What I've Learned

Over the course of this semester, I have learned a lot. Most importantly, this course stressed the importance of critical thinking and how it helps us in arguments and decision-making. We also learned what fallacies were and how to identify them in conversations and arguments. Inductive and deductive reasoning was a big part of this course too. We spent a lot of time differentiating them and using it in our reasoning. Another thing we learned were the different parts of an argument, such as the premises and the conclusion. Functions of language played an important part in arguments because using a certain language brings about a different end result. Lastly, this course has taught me how to make a strong argument and to communicate better with others. I believe the things we have learned this semester will help us in our future classes and make us better communicators to our peers.

Week 14: Discussion #3

The Mission Critical and Causal Argument Website was very helpful. Both websites provided examples and explanations to each term. Another plus to these websites is that they are very easy to access and understand. All terms are summarized, which makes it easier to understand on my part because I do not like long explanations or definitions. The two websites helped me understand the concepts more clearly and if you had any confusion on what some terms were, these websites would clear it up for you. The websites also served as review because I would sometimes forget concepts I have learned earlier on or throughout the semester, so going through the websites helped refresh my memory. It was like a little mini review in preparation for the final. The overall design of the websites could be updated to help it look more organized and modern. Even without the changes, the website still serves it purpose and we still learn from it.

Week 14: Discussion #1

Today’s Sagittarius Horoscope:

Don't hesitate to try something new today, Sagittarius. If you've thought about joining a book club or taking a class, do it today! You're likely to meet some interesting people and enter a new social world. You might be tentative at first, but you'll find the group warm, friendly, and eager for your input. You'll talk like old friends by the end of the second meeting. This is just the infusion of fun you need!

Usually horoscopes are pretty accurate and apply to my daily life. However, today’s horoscope was half applied to my life. I did try something new today, which was going to the FAME SS2012: The Masquerade. It was a place where fashion designers, dancers, and DJs got to gather together and share with the public what they loved to do. It was interesting and entertaining because I have never gone to one of these events before. The people there told us about their company and what they represented, and it was heartfelt because they set themselves aside from major retail brands. Although I probably will not ever see them again, our conversations were easy to talk through and it impressed me with how much they have accomplished. Overall, horoscopes sometimes scare me with how accurate they can be, but I do not go through my day expecting my horoscope to come true. It’s fun to read your horoscope, but it does not predict what will happen to you in life.

Week 14: Discussion #2

A time that I drew an incorrect conclusion was recently this weekend. I was spending the entire weekend with a group of friends, and one of them brought a girl. From the looks of it, it seemed like they were a couple until someone told me the girl was his ex-girlfriend. After that, I assumed they were going to get back together after this weekend. During Saturday night, we were having “girl talk” and I decided to ask the girl if they were going to get back together. She said no and that they were hanging out for the first time in years. Afterwards, I felt like a complete idiot for thinking they were getting back together. The girl thought her ex told us they were getting back together, but I assured her I only thought they were going to get back together. It proved me wrong yet again, that assuming something is never the right ways to think because there is more to it than you think. 

Week 12: Discussion #3

The topic that caught my eye this week was sensationalism and the news. The news covers a lot of stories that are currently happening, but not all news will interest us. According to the Boss textbook, “most people prefer heartwarming, true-crime, or disaster stories over critical analysis of national and international issues” (pg 344). This is true for me too. When I am surfing the web for news, I skip pass anything that sounds like politics or anything that does not relate to me. If a story about a tragedy pops up, I immediately click the link and proceed to read it. As people, we have empathy, and newscaster and journalists play on that. When we see others in distress, we feel for them and want to reach out and help. That is why Newspaper cover stories and headlines are usually related to topics that will grab at our heartstrings. This strategy is good for the news because it will grab people’s attention and make them want to know more about the situation.