Week 7: Discussion Question #2

Rhetorical devices can be heard in our daily conversations. If you ask my friends, you will know very well that I use sarcasm all the time.  Our laundry room in the house was getting messy, and one of my housemates pointed it out. My response was, “Oh really? I haven’t noticed even though I trip over clothes and slip on plastic bags every time I walk through the laundry room. It’s not like I’m scared for my life every time I walk through there in the dark nowadays.” She got my point; the laundry room needs to get cleaned up by the ones who made the mess.

Another rhetorical device is a hyperbole, and it’s used as an exaggeration. In my Asian American Studies class, the professors always give long lectures. After the class is over, I would turn to my friend and say, “That lecture bored me to death.” Obviously, it was an exaggeration because I did not literally die from that hour and fifteen minute lecture, even though it was super boring and my brain probably didn’t process 2/3 of the information spoken to us.

Week 7: Discussion Question #1

Sally Ride is a person who is very admirable. She exemplifies the qualities of successful communication skills and how it helped her succeed in life. Communication skills are very important in her career because one has to be able to listen, speak, and write effectively with their co-workers in order for projects to be completed correctly. Sally used research and inquiry skills to determine what career would best suit her. With her extraordinary communication skills, NASA was a perfect work place for her. She was in charge of the capcom for the first and second shuttle flights. Sally was also the first female astronaut in space, and that helped break the barrier for other females to do the same.  Her persistence in a field dominated by males shows us that we are all capable of reaching our goals, no matter the obstacles. As long as we use our skills, we can be successful. Sally achieved a lot in her life because she used what she was best at to help her, and that was her communication skills.

Week 6: Discussion Question #3

According to the textbook, rationalists “maintain that religious beliefs should be consistent with reason and evidence.” I find this to be interesting because people normally believe in the religion or they do not. This type of Rationalism is quite popular within the American population. They believe there is a correlation between God, the creator, and proof that he exists. Rationalists rely on evidence to back up a certain belief in the religion. If there is no proof, they become skeptical of the idea and may reject it entirely. Sometimes the blame may fall on the failure of science to prove their beliefs, and not towards their religion. Proof is extremely important to them because it is answers to their questions. Yet, there are people out there in the world that try to disprove the rationalism ideas because they believe it is not God that brought us here, but rather the idea of evolution.

Week 6: Discussion Question #2

When it comes to religion, people can get offended easily and it is not a topic I discuss regularly. I believe every person has their own belief and we do not have the right to tell them whether they are incorrect or not. Evolution and a belief in God are incompatible to the claims of Dawkins and beliefs of Aquinas. Dawkins keeps pointing out the fact that Aquinas believes God creates everything. Yet, he cannot provide proof that there is something else or another force at work for everything that is on Earth right now. If he could prove that God does not exist, then his argument for evolution would be valid and more believable. If Aquinas were alive today, he would probably tell Dawkins to provide proof that God did not create everything and our existence. 

Week 6: Discussion Question #1

Every so often, we are asked what our strengths are, and our answers evolve a little each time. That is because we are constantly growing as people, and we are learning a lot more about ourselves. One of my strengths is seeing the bigger picture within a problem and solution. I feel you have to fully look at both the pros and cons on each side and figure out what the best move to make is. The best solution one can come up with will make both parties happy, but it does not happen all the time. Sometimes the solution you come up with will not satisfy everyone, even though it is the best plan. This type of thinking is critical for my career choice because when you work with the environment and its resources, you have to figure out how your actions will affect the environment, ecosystem, and the human population. 

Week 4: Discussion Question #3

Inductive generalization includes the usage of polls. Polls help gather information and public opinion on certain topics that we want to analyze. These polls are given to a group of people known as a sample group. Public opinion is very important to our lives. It helps the government determine what the public thinks about certain policies that they are trying to implement or to see what changes the public wants to happen. Public opinion is very important because the government works to represent the people and their needs. With the use of polls, it is easier for the all our information to be collected and then analyzed by numbers to see what policies and changes are favorable. When we see polls, we do not think much of it until we look into it and see the bigger picture. It gives a diverse group of people a chance to share their opinions.

Week 4: Discussion Question #2

Dr. Novello has overcome obstacles in her past and achieved a lot during her lifetime. She has helped us realized that tobacco ads have affected the youth in a negative way. The cause-and-effect inductive reasoning can be applied to this issue. You recognize the issue, and then find a solution to change it.

Premise 1 (Cause): The number of teens and children who smoked had begun to increase dramatically in 1988

Premise 2 (cause): when the Joe Camels ads for Camel cigarettes were first introduced.

Conclusion (effect): More teens and children will begin to smoke if the Camel ads keep targeting the youth.

Once she saw the cause of the problem, Dr. Novello came up with a solution. She rallied for “more education in schools as well as a ban on cigarette and alcohol ads that targeted the youth” (Boss, pg. 221). She successfully implemented the cause-and-effect inductive reasoning into her work.